Cancer News: Pink October and cancer awareness runs

It’s the beginning of October and it is also the start of the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the US. But the rest of the world is going pink this month, too.

The Empire State Building to Shine Pink on October 1^st
This observance kicks off today, October 1 with famous landmarks and buildings shining pink. This is in connection with Estee Lauder’s attempt to set a new Guinness World Records for “most landmarks illuminated for a cause in 24 hours.” The lighting of the Empire State Building will be the culminating event for The Estee Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign’s (BCA Campaign) Global Landmarks Illumination Initiative. Other iconic landmarks that will be lighted pink are:

• Castle Schonbrunn in Austria
• Taj Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel in India
• Kuala Lumpur Tower in Malaysia
• Rockefeller Center in New York City

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® Global Events Kick Off in Four Countries

Four races done, 6 more to go. The first 4 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure of this autumn started last Sept 26 in

• Frankfurt, Germany
• Bologna, Italy
• Athens, Greece
• Antwerp, Belgium

Runs scheduled in October:

October 2

• The 3rd Bosnia and Herzegovina Race for the Cure in Sarajevo in partnership with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s Women’s Health Empowerment Program

October 10

• The 6th Susan G. Komen Puerto Rico Race for the Cure in San Juan

• The 1st Susan G. Komen Italia Race for the Cure in Naples, Italy

October 23

• The 2nd Egypt Race for the Cure at the Pyramids of Giza in partnership with the Breast Cancer Foundation of Egypt

October 24

• The 1st Brazil Race for the Cure in Rio de Janeiro in partnership with the Franco-Brazilian Oncology Society, Oncoguia, FEMAMA, Brazilian Mastectomy Society and the Brazilian Society of Clinical Oncology

October 28

• The 1st Israel Race for the Cure in Jerusalem in partnership with Hadassah Organization and the City of Jerusalem

Finally, an anti-cancer run for me

This promises to be a good month for advocates of breast cancer awareness, including me. For one thing, I finally found a local breast cancer walk/run event here in Zurich, my city of residence.

Before we moved to Switzerland, I used to join regularly the Susan Komen Race for the Cure in Frankfurt. The last time was in 2005 and I still have my T-shirt from the event.

Well, this year I finally found out that there is a similar event here in Zurich called the Pink Ribbon Charity Walk. So I am doing it for the first time since moving to this country in 2006. And I am also doing it for the first time with my 2 boys! The 2.5 km Walk will take place this Saturday, October 2 at the new Stadion Letzigrund of Zurich. Proceeds of the Walk goes to local cancer foundation Krebsliga.