This Breast Cancer Ribbon Has a Different Take on Pink. Here’s What It Means
It’s a sad fact that these days, nearly everyone knows someone who’s had breast cancer. Yet there’s one fact not everyone knows: approximately 30 percent of people with early-stage breast cancer who’ve “beaten” the disease will eventually see it return as stage IV, also known as advanced or metastatic breast cancer (MBC). That means breast cancer has spread to other parts of the body, and it’s a diagnosis that carries an average life expectancy of just 24 to 36 months. MBC is the only form of breast cancer that kills. Yet while MBC claims the lives of 117 people in the U.S. daily (“like an airplane falling from the sky every single day”) and more than 670,000 people worldwide each year, less than 13 percent of global breast cancer research funds go toward researching new treatments for MBC.
A new take on the pink ribbon
Those shocking statistics explain why more and more people are embracing a reimagined breast-cancer-awareness ribbon that thinks beyond pink. Created in 1992 by Alexandra Penney, then editor-in-chief of Self magazine, as part of the brand’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month initiative, the instantly recognizable pink breast cancer ribbon is closely associated with early detection and celebrating survivors—but there’s no surviving MBC, just buying time via treatment. Thus, a tricolor ribbon for metastatic breast cancer aims to raise awareness about the need to direct funding toward the development of life-extending treatments. In this ribbon, designed and trademarked by the MBC nonprofit Metavivor, green represents the triumph of spring over winter, life over death; teal symbolizes healing and spirituality; and a thin pink-ribbon overlay signifies cancer that originated in the breast. In recent years, the distinctive color palette has become more widely recognized and used, including on apparel and accessories that raise money for MBC research, like the popular Faith Over Fear bracelet from Little Words Project.
A game-changing fundraiser
One inspiring initiative that’s helped the MBC ribbon go mainstream is an annual event that shines a light on its colors and its cause—quite literally and beautifully. During #LightUpMBC, more than 270 iconic landmarks around the world illuminate in teal, green, and pink. Sites range from soaring skyscrapers like New York City’s One World Trade Center to natural wonders like Niagara Falls and span 176 cities in all 50 states and beyond.
On Monday, October 13 (National Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day), participants can find a local landmark to visit. Then, at 8:00 p.m. ET./5:00 p.m. PT, they can tune in to #LightUpMBC LIVE, a livestream event featuring inspiring MBC stories told from illuminated landmarks around the globe. This year, co-host/producer Tami Eagle Bowling—a motivational speaker and 10-year stage IV MBC thriver—will be joined by Gina Naomi Baez, an actress, singer-songwriter, and three-time cancer survivor who is currently developing Abril, a Broadway-bound musical inspired by her cancer journey. The livestream will feature powerful musical performances from Broadway stars Ann Hampton Callaway, Kara Lindsay, Mamie Parris, and Steven Grant Douglas; music from Grammy-award winning, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame artist Bootsy Collins and soul singer songwriter Jess Lamb; and a duet by pop star Em Beihold and e.woolf. #LightUpMBC Live will also raise awareness about the latest MBC developments while raising funds to support groundbreaking research—100 percent of net proceeds go to METAvivor (you can see some of the research grants the event has funded here).
