BREAST CANCER AWARENESS
The month is about more than pink ribbons. While some feel inspired, many people living with breast cancer feel like the month overlooks their experience with the disease. Updated on October 9, 2025
Breast Cancer Awareness Month can mean different things to different people. For some, it’s a trigger — 31 days in the fall of pink-ribbon reminders of a disease that forever changed them. For others, it’s a chance to show their support for the more than 2 million women around the world who are diagnosed with the disease each year.
Understanding the goals behind the global campaign and the emotions felt by the many different people living with the disease may help you decide if and how you want to commemorate the month.
What is Breast Cancer Awareness Month?
Breast Cancer Awareness Month is an international health campaign that’s held every October. The month aims to promote screening and reduce the risk of the disease, which affects 2.3 million women worldwide. Known best for its pink theme color, the month features a number of campaigns and programs designed to:
- support people diagnosed with breast cancer, including those with metastatic breast cancer
- educate people about breast cancer risk factors
- encourage women to go for regular breast cancer screening starting at age 40 or earlier, depending on personal breast cancer risk
- raise money for breast cancer research
In the month of October, there are also specific dates designed to raise awareness of specific groups within the breast cancer community.
Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day (October 13)
October 13 is nationally recognized in the U.S. as Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day. About 168,000 women in the U.S. are estimated to have metastatic breast cancer (cancer that spreads beyond the breast to other parts of the body). Some researchers believe this number will rise to over 246,000 living with the disease by 2030. Despite the growing numbers of people living with metastatic disease, most money for breast cancer research doesn’t go toward studying it.
Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day seeks to educate the public about the challenges that people with metastatic breast cancer face and the need for more research — and more treatments — for this deadly disease.
The day also serves as a reminder that people can do all the right things — breast cancer screenings and all the recommended treatments for early-stage breast cancer — and still have cancer spread to other parts of the body. As sf-cakes, a member of the Breastcancer.org Community, shared, “Being stage IV during Breast Cancer Awareness Month sucks. All the messaging about ‘if you catch it early, you'll be fine,’ is simply not always true.”
Men’s Breast Cancer Awareness Week (October 17–23)
Although breast cancer is much more common in women, breast cancer affects men, too. In 2021, President Joe Biden designated October 17 to October 23 Men’s Breast Cancer Awareness Week. According to the American Cancer Society, about 2,800 men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2025, and about 510 are expected to die from the disease. But lack of awareness and stigma can be barriers to detection and care in men, trans men, and non-binary people.
Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day (October 13)
October 13 is nationally recognized in the U.S. as Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day. About 168,000 women in the U.S. are estimated to have metastatic breast cancer (cancer that spreads beyond the breast to other parts of the body). Some researchers believe this number will rise to over 246,000 living with the disease by 2030. Despite the growing numbers of people living with metastatic disease, most money for breast cancer research doesn’t go toward studying it.
Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day seeks to educate the public about the challenges that people with metastatic breast cancer face and the need for more research — and more treatments — for this deadly disease.
The day also serves as a reminder that people can do all the right things — breast cancer screenings and all the recommended treatments for early-stage breast cancer — and still have cancer spread to other parts of the body. As sf-cakes, a member of the Breastcancer.org Community, shared, “Being stage IV during Breast Cancer Awareness Month sucks. All the messaging about ‘if you catch it early, you'll be fine,’ is simply not always true.”
Men’s Breast Cancer Awareness Week (October 17–23)
Although breast cancer is much more common in women, breast cancer affects men, too. In 2021, President Joe Biden designated October 17 to October 23 Men’s Breast Cancer Awareness Week. According to the American Cancer Society, about 2,800 men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2025, and about 510 are expected to die from the disease. But lack of awareness and stigma can be barriers to detection and care in men, trans men, and non-binary people.