Bring Out The Pink Next Month

It is estimated that 1 in 8 women born today in the U.S. will get breast cancer at some stage of their lives. October’s National Breast Cancer Awareness Month gives all of us an opportunity to bring out our inner pink.

Even with all of the national attention and outpouring of annual events like Coaches vs. Cancer, Pink Ribbon Runs, Girls Nights Out, Relays for Life and hundreds more, only 65% of women ages 40 and older had a mammogram in the past 2 years. According to the CDC, nearly 41,000 people will die from breast cancer this year.

Doctors and practices join national and local community efforts every year to encourage annual screenings and early detection. From cranking up social media efforts, sharing articles in practice newsletters, adding a splash of pink to the website, to full blown patient marketing campaigns, practices are trying to elevate the importance of screenings.

Leave No Stone Unturned.

Plaster the waiting room walls and exam rooms with posters and screening information. Host community events. Create patient survival videos. Stuff educational screening inserts into patient statements. Have an annual recall plan for patients ages 40 and older. Look at every other communication opportunity you have -- from scripting the front office receptionists to the nurses.

There can never be enough communication. Never enough noise in digital media. Never enough printed education. Never enough mailings.

We all need to communicate more. The 3.1 million breast cancer survivors, those undergoing continued treatment, the families of the 41,000 who will lose their battle this year, and the 300,000 new patients diagnosed this year are counting on all of us.