Subject
title
Proclamation Declaring October 2025, as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
end
Department
City Clerk/Director of Council Operations Office
Recommendation
Staff recommends the Mayor and Council read and approve the proclamation.
Discussion
During National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we honor all those who lost their lives to Breast Cancer, and we recognize the courageous survivors who are fighting it. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. 60-70% of people with breast cancer have no known pre-existing risk factors. Therefore, having an early detection plan including breast exams and mammograms is key. As part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, National Mammography Day is observed on October 18, 2024, the third Friday in October. This day serves as a reminder that the best defense is early detection.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month is an international health campaign that’s held every October. The month aims to promote screening and reduce the risk of the disease, which affects 2.3 million women worldwide. Known best for its pink theme color, the month features a number of campaigns and programs designed to:
• support people diagnosed with breast cancer, including those with metastatic breast cancer <https://www.breastcancer.org/types/metastatic>
• educate people about breast cancer risk factors <https://www.breastcancer.org/risk/risk-factors>
• encourage women to go for regular breast cancer screening <https://www.breastcancer.org/screening-testing/mammograms/recommendations> starting at age 40 or earlier, depending on personal breast cancer risk
• raise money for breast cancer research
•
In the month of October, there are also specific dates designed to raise awareness of specific groups within the breast cancer community.
Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day (October 13)
October 13 is nationally recognized in the U.S. as Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day. About 168,000 women in the U.S. are estimated to have metastatic breast cancer <https://www.breastcancer.org/types/metastatic> (cancer that spreads beyond the breast to other parts of the body). Some researchers believe this number will rise to over 246,000 <https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8364673/> living with the disease by 2030. Despite the growing numbers of people living with metastatic disease, ’most money for breast cancer research doesnt go toward studying it <https://www.metavivor.org/mbc-prep/metastatic-breast-cancer-statistics/>.
Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day seeks to educate the public about the challenges that people with metastatic breast cancer face and the need for more research - and more treatments - for this deadly disease.
The day also serves as a reminder that people can do all the right things - breast cancer screenings and all the recommended treatments for early-stage breast cancer - and still have cancer spread to other parts of the body. As sf-cakes, a member of the Breastcancer.org Community, shared, “Being stage IV during Breast Cancer Awareness Month sucks. All the messaging about ‘if you catch it early, you'll be fine,’ is simply not always true.”
Men’s Breast Cancer Awareness
Although breast cancer is much more common in women, breast cancer affects men <https://www.breastcancer.org/types/male-breast-cancer>, too. In 2021, President Joe Biden designated October 17 to October 23 Men’s Breast Cancer Awareness Week. According to the American Cancer Society <https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/breast-cancer-in-men/about/key-statistics.html>, about 2,800 men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2025, and about 510 are expected to die from the disease. But lack of awareness and stigma can be barriers to detection and care in men, trans men, and non-binary people.
How common is breast cancer?
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States, except for skin cancers. It is about 30% (or 1 in 3) of all new female cancers each year.
The American Cancer Society's estimates for breast cancer in the United States for 2024 are:
• About 313,510 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women.
• About 55,720 new cases of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) will be diagnosed.
• About 43,600 women will die from breast cancer.
Breast cancer mainly occurs in middle-aged and older women. The median age at the time of breast cancer diagnosis is 63. This means half of the women who developed breast cancer are 63 years of age or younger when they are diagnosed. A very small number of women diagnosed with breast cancer are younger than 45.
Trends in breast cancer deaths
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women. (Only lung cancer kills more women each year.) The chance that a woman will die from breast cancer is about 1 in 39 (about 2.5%).
Since 2007, breast cancer death rates have been steady in women younger than 50 but have continued to decrease in older women. From 2013 to 2018, the death rate went down by 1% per year.
These decreases are believed to be the result of finding breast cancer earlier through screening and increased awareness, as well as better treatments.
Differences by race and ethnicity
Some variations in breast cancer can be seen between racial and ethnic groups. For example,
• The median age of diagnosis is slightly younger for Black women (60 years old) compared to white women 63 years old).
• Black women have the highest death rate from breast cancer. This is thought to be partly because about 1 in 5 Black women with breast cancer have triple-negative breast cancer, more than any other racial/ethnic group.
• Black women have a higher chance of developing breast cancer before the age of 40 than white women.
• At every age, Black women are more likely to die from breast cancer than any other race or ethnic group.
• White and Asian/Pacific Islander women are more likely to be diagnosed with localized breast cancer than Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native women.
• Asian/Pacific Islanders have the lowest death rate from breast cancer.
• American Indian/Alaska Natives have the lowest rates of developing breast cancer.
• Ashkenazi Jewish women (usually of Eastern European ancestry) are at a higher risk for getting breast cancer at a young age and also for getting ovarian and other cancers due to mutations in the BRCA gene. If a mother or father has a BRCA gene mutation, you have a 50% chance of having the same gene mutation.
• About 50 out of 100 women with a BRCA gene mutation will get breast cancer by the time they turn 70 years old, compared to only about 7 out of 100 women in the general U.S. population.
Breast Cancer Survivors
The population of cancer survivors in the US continues to grow:
As of January 1, 2025, about 1 out of every 18 Americans (18.6 million people) was a cancer survivor. By 2035, that number is projected to exceed 22 million.
4.3 million women are living in the United States with a history of breast cancer as of January 2025:
By 2035, we expect to have about 5.3 million - nearly 1 million more breast cancer survivors.
The History of Breast Cancer Awareness Month
The event began in 1985 as a week-long awareness campaign by the American Cancer Society, in partnership with Imperial Chemical Industries, a British company that made tamoxifen. The campaign eventually grew into a month-long event.
In 1992, the pink ribbon came into play after Alexandra Penney, SELF magazine's editor-in-chief, partnered with Evelyn Lauder, Estée Lauder's senior corporate vice president and a breast cancer survivor, to distribute pink ribbons after the magazine’s second annual Breast Cancer Awareness Month issue.
Source: <https://www.breastcancer.org/about-breast-cancer/breast-cancer-awareness-month>
Source: <https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/breast-cancer/about/how-common-is-breast-cancer.html>
Source: <https://www.cancer.org/research/cancer-facts-statistics/survivor-facts-figures.html>
Mayor and Council History
The Mayor and Council issue this proclamation annually.