This Breast Cancer Ribbon Has a Different Take on Pink. Here’s What It Means
Courtesy of METAvivor.
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 115 people in the U.S. daily (“like an airplane falling from the sky every single day”) and more than 685,000 people worldwide each year, less than five percent of breast cancer funds raised in the U.S. go toward researching new treatments for it.
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 that cancer that originated in the breast.
“There is often a misconception there is a cure for breast cancer. We want to share with anyone who will listen that there is not.”
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 green, pink, and teal. Sites range from soaring skyscrapers like New York City’s One World Trade Center to natural wonders like Niagara Falls and span 172 cities in all 50 states and beyond. On Sunday, October 13 (National Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day), participants can find a local landmark to visit in person prior to taking it all in from the comfort of home by tuning in to #LightUpMBC Live, a virtual benefit kicking off at 8:00 p.m. ET./5:00 p.m. PT. Livestreaming from Hilton Short Hills through the LiveOne platform on Metavivor’s YouTube, Facebook Live, and metavivor.org/lightupmbc—watch it on YouTube, above—the show will feature inspiring MBC stories told from the illuminated landmarks around the globe. Celebrity guests will include American Idol-winning musician/actor David Cook, Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Lisa Loeb, Emmy award-winning entertainer Keith David, and many more. The show will be co-hosted and produced by Tami Eagle Bowling, a motivational speaker and nine-year stage IV MBC thriver, along with actress, influencer, and breast cancer survivor Miranda McKeon.
McKeon, who appeared in the Netflix series Anne With an E, received a shocking diagnosis of stage III breast cancer at age 19 and has powerfully blogged throughout her treatment journey. Part of her mission now is to raise awareness about the fact that earlier-stage breast cancer frequently comes back years later as incurable, stage IV MBC—the only kind of breast cancer that kills. “Because I was diagnosed with breast cancer so young, that leaves a lot of time for me to experience a recurrence. I’m starkly aware of that and desperately want to find a cure for metastatic breast cancer. If we cure MBC, no one will die from breast cancer,” says McKeon (who, channeling her new perspective on life, recently launched a card game called Fill Your Tank that helps deepen relationships through question prompts). She knows that sadly, she’s far from alone in facing decades of wondering whether her cancer will come back as metastatic. “Cancer diagnoses are happening younger and younger,” she says. “What happened to me isn’t unheard of anymore. We need to create more treatment options for stage IV to ensure that all of these beautiful young women—and women of all ages currently living with incurable MBC—are able to live long, healthy lives.”
If you’re ready to join the movement, tune in to LightUPMBC 2024. The best way to experience the broadcast, according to its hosts, is by dual-viewing it: Stream it on your smart TV by via LiveOne or Metavivor’s live YouTube channel, and simultaneously on your phone or laptop (with the sound off) via the Metavivor Facebook Live broadcast. That way, you can get the full visual impact of the lit-up landmarks but also follow along with the comments and interact with others who care about the MBC cause. Meanwhile, you can browse a couple fun additions to the annual fundraising event: #LightUpMBC apparel, and the Shimmer for the Cure jewelry collection, which offers a range of pieces with teal, green, and pink gemstones, with 100 percent of net profits going to Metavivor during October.
A loss that launched a movement
The original spark for #LightUpMBC came from Laura Inahara, a New Hampshire woman who lost her best friend, Jessica Moore, to metastatic breast cancer. A varsity girls’ basketball coach, Moore had gotten elbowed in the breast while playing the game one day, and the resulting pain kept lingering. As a nurse, she knew her injury should be healing more quickly. After she visited doctors to get checked out, she found out she had metastatic breast cancer—meaning the disease had already progressed and spread to her bones, despite her having no other symptoms. She was only 32. She fought the disease for four years, passing away at age 36. “Prior to Jessica’s passing, she said she thought it would be amazing to light a landmark for MBC as a way to raise awareness,” says Inahara, who founded a group called Moore Fight Moore Strong in her friend’s honor. In October 2017, five months after Moore died, the group lit their first landmark—the Memorial Bridge in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, near Jessica’s hometown.
A working mom by day, Inahara began sitting down each night to work on expanding #LightUpMBC. Later she met Tami Eagle Bowling, who developed the idea for a live broadcast that would greatly expand the event’s fundraising reach. “I created #LightUpMBC Live as a platform for people to see the landmarks lighting in solidarity around the world and hear stories directly from families affected by MBC. The campaign is designed to educate, inspire and raise critical funds for MBC research,” Bowling says. Now the annual event is a major source of donations where 100 percent of net proceeds benefit Metavivor, to fund research treatments that could turn stage-IV breast cancer from a deadly disease into a survivable one. “METAvivor remains the only US organization dedicated to awarding annual grants solely into stage-IV breast cancer through a scientific peer review process,” Inahara explains. “That is what it will take to find a cure and stop losing more than 685,000 lives to breast cancer each year globally. We feel certain that with more research funding, no more of our friends will have to die from this disease—our mission is to give the MBC community more time with their loved ones. There is often a misconception there is a cure for breast cancer, and we want to share with anyone who will listen that there is not.”
While 30% of early-stage breast cancer patients will eventually see their disease return as metastatic, less than 5% of overall breast cancer funds raised go toward researching treatments for metastatic breast cancer.
Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Keychain
$10.00, Metavivor
Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon Long-Sleeve Gray T-Shirt
$25.00, Metavivor
Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon Lapel Pin
$10.00, Metavivor
Visit Metavivor to get involved in public awareness and advocacy campaigns, fundraising, and more.
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Learn more about women living with metastatic breast cancer and their loved ones here:
7 Questions to Ask Your Doctor If You’re Diagnosed With Metastatic Breast Cancer
My Life in Pictures: Before, During, and After a Metastatic Breast Cancer Diagnosis
How to Talk to Your Kids About Your Metastatic Breast Cancer Diagnosis
Originally Appeared on Glamour
