Do Flashy Campaigns Make a Difference for Breast Cancer?

by Melissa Garvey, ACNM Writer and Editor

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and one Facebook campaign has already gone viral. It’s not a campaign imploring people to donate to breast cancer research. Instead, women are using their Facebook status updates to reveal where they like to put their purse.

As you can imagine, this leads to all sorts of sexual connotations–for example, “I like it on the couch,” or “I like it in the kitchen.” It’s similar to a previous campaign that encouraged women to post their bra color as their status update. It’s eye-catching, and people like it. But is it really making a difference for breast cancer?

According to the National Breast Cancer Coalition, these flashy campaigns do nothing for the millions of women who are struggling or will be diagnosed with breast cancer. In fact, NBCC has started an alternative approach by setting a deadline to end breast cancer by January 1, 2020. It’s different, well thought out, and bold. But is it possible?

If you had to choose between the Facebook “I like it” campaign and the NBCC deadline, which would you say holds the most potential to make a difference for women with breast cancer?