Maryland Recognizes Breast Cancer Awareness Month

The White House got a pink glow in Washington, DC. People painted their pumpkins pink in Calvert, MD, and women donated art made of bras in Orange City, FL. In Pennsylvania, first lady Susan Corbett turned the fountain pink in Harrisburg. And they did it all last year in celebration of the 25th Anniversary of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

This October promises to bring even more colorful and thoughtful events and opportunities.

“Clearly, every person who brings attention to the cause is fantastic,” said Terry Music, chief mission delivery officer for the American Cancer Society

Groups of women are getting together and survivors are reaching out to each other on social networks. Children are helping out, too, by pitching tents and filling water bottles at fundraisers in Tampa and serving pink lemonade from homemade stands in Philadelphia. Neighbors in Little Neck, NY, gather for a block party.

Men are participating, too, and in Connecticut, they are hosting a dance—no ties needed! In Virginia, men’s soccer and volleyball teams suit up in pink for special games.

There are hundreds of breast cancer awareness walks and runs around the country, plus marathons and a plethora of exercise-related events. Then there are the tea parties, luncheons, golf tournaments, masquerade balls, art shows, motorcross and motorcycle rides and concerts.

A Winter Park, FL, hospital is raising money for the cause by selling pink plastic flamingos, which are popping up in yards all over town. An exhibit in Illinois is spotlighting survivors and family members through visual art.
And, of course, let’s not forget the high heel races going on around the world in support of breast cancer awareness, like the Stiletto Stampede for the Cure in Houston.

Events in Maryland and the DC Metropolitan Area

• 13th Annual "Living with Breast Cancer" Symposium: "Facing the Road Ahead," Oct. 1, 8:30 to noon, at Suburban Hospital (8600 Old Georgetown Rd., Bethesda)—Free and open to all breast cancer survivors, family and friends. Registration is required. To register or for more information, call 301-896-3939.

• Party in Pink, Oct. 1-2 at the Westfield Montgomery Mall. The mall has partnered with the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 5K Walk, to offer shopping discounts throughout the mall with any donation to the American Cancer Society. 

• Pink Fling, Oct. 2, at the Piney Branch Golf & Country Club  (5301 Trenton Mill Rd., Hampstead, Md.—keynote presentation, lunch and silent auction.

• Healing in Heels, Oct. 9, at the (1910 Towne Center Blvd., Annapolis)—a 550-yard dash through Annapolis Towne Center to raise money for the .

• Yoga on the Steps, Oct. 16 at 8:30 a.m., at the Freedom Plaza (at Pennsylvania Avenue between 13th and 14th streets NW, Washington, DC)—an educational program designed to inform participants about healthy living and quality-of-life issues while promoting Living Beyond Breast Cancer's mission to help women take an active role in their ongoing recovery or management of the disease.

• Pink Rocks the Runway with Pink Jams, Oct. 21, in the atrium of the International Trade Center (1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC). It's an annual breast cancer awareness fashion event that combines couture fashion and live rock music with an important early detection message.

• Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, Oct. 29 at the Sylvan Theatre in the National Mall. Walk with the American Cancer Society to raise awareness about breast cancer.

• Take a Bite Out of Breast Cancer with Pink Jams. For the entire month of October, chefs and restaurateurs in the Washington, DC, area are donating a portion of their food and beverage sales to Pink Jams to support breast cancer research. To find out what restaurants are participating on any given day in October, visit Pink Jams' website.