It will surprise no-one to read that I'm pleased to see the back of the traditional over-hypered Pink October. Happily I managed to avoid most of the grossness this year and so my personal award for the Most Tacky Pink Product is given courtesy of my sister blogger The Accidental Amazon and a product she featured in her recent post Bye-Bye Pinktober http://accidentalamazon.com/blog/2013/10/30/bye-bye-pinktober-a-futuristic-send-off/
And the award goes to ---- the Crawl for the Cure pink-clothed baby doll! See Kathi's blog above for a photo including this.
There were, however, a couple of events that had I been in the right country at the right time I would have liked to have attended. One of these was Europa Donna Malta's Silhouette Walk from Sliema to Valletta. The walkers carried silhouettes; pink to represent a woman living with and beyond breast cancer, blue for a man with breast cancer and white for those we've lost to this disease. The photos show that this event was fun while raising awareness and honouring those who've gone before us.
The other event took place in Yangon, where a group gathered to share experiences, knowledge and personal accounts. http://feistybluegeckofightsback.wordpress.com/2013/10/27/tropical-cancer/
The October cancer highlight for me was the London Cancer Strategy Summit, held at the beginning of the month. It was an encouraging and inspiring event, with participation from international and national guests as well as those from the immediate area. We considered our goals and aspirations, reviewed what we're achieved so far and looked to the future. I think that most of us came away with a renewed enthusiasm for the various work streams, as well as a sense of pride in some of the more groundbreaking aspects of this Integrated Cancer System.
Now, as November gathers pace and I move into my personal season of anniversaries and appointments, I can look forward to the coming conference of the National Cancer Research Institute. It is a packed programme and I know that there will be both exciting and disappointing news (that after all is the whole point of research) along side an opportunity for informal chats. To follow some of the highlights, check the hashtag #NCRI2013
Here, here, Elizabeth! And thanks for linking my post. A nice surprise! I really hope that we can all focus on what needs to be done in the coming year to lessen the incidence & damage of breast cancer & mets, and less on what should not be done in the name of so-called awareness. xoxo, Kathi
ReplyDeleteHi Kathi. Yes, October seems to be the month that detracts from the real work of lessening incidence, damage and death! I'm hoping for encouragement at the conference. E xx
ReplyDelete