Most of us know someone who has been affected by breast cancer.

It is the second most common cancer among American women, with about one in every eight women in the United States developing the disease during their lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society.

Although primarily women are diagnosed with breast cancer, that doesn’t make it just a women’s issue. With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we can all focus on supporting and saving women — and not just saving the breasts.

Breast cancer is too often made into a “sexy” disease. With campaigns like Save the Ta-Tas and bracelets reading “I [heart] Boobies,” the focus is on the part of the woman’s body with the cancer, rather than the woman herself.

While these types of campaigns mean well, and all funds raised toward breast cancer awareness are beneficial, they can send a damaging message.

Women who are at high risk or have breast cancer might choose to get a mastectomy. In our society, where appearances are important and women are valued for their bodies, losing your breasts is frightening. It’s sad that women affected by breast cancer might feel less attractive, when they are actually incredibly brave and strong individuals.

This past summer, Angelina Jolie was praised after announcing she had a double mastectomy. In an op-ed piece for The New York Times, she wrote, “I feel empowered that I made a strong choice. That in no way diminishes my femininity.”

It is monumental of Jolie, who is regarded as a global sex symbol, to sincerely disclose information about the effects of losing her mother at a young age and how she wants to prevent a similar loss for her own children.

Regardless of celebrity status and money, coming to terms with losing one’s breasts is a challenge for women. Jolie’s assertion that she is no less of a woman than she was before the surgery is inspiring.

But it’s not always financially possible for every woman to get the reconstructive surgery like Jolie, and some might not want it. Those women should still be regarded with the same awe and respect as Jolie because they, too, took their health into their own hands.

Awareness campaigns educate women about the need to get screened for breast cancer early on. They also encourage women to start getting mammograms at age 40. Today’s technology even makes it is possible for women to find out through a blood test if they have inherited a harmful mutation of the affected genes.

Further information and support can hopefully encourage women to take action and do what they can do to save themselves — without the worry of losing their femininity.

A woman is much more than her “parts.” Losing these parts to cancer will never take away her true beauty.

In addition to supporting women in whatever choices they make when battling breast cancer, we can all be part of the movement for the cure. A Syracuse native and graduate of Syracuse University, Carol Baldwin, serves as inspiration in doing so.

After undergoing a double mastectomy, she decided to help other women overcome the struggles associated with breast cancer. In 1996, she formed The Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund, Inc., which is committed to finding a cure.

The foundation is holding A Run for Their Life, an annual 5k run/walk for cancer research, in Syracuse on Sunday, Oct. 13. The proceeds go directly to State University of New York Upstate Medical University.

We should all support these efforts because this is not a fight that breast cancer survivors should face alone. By creating a community filled with support, we can better work toward achieving the goal of ending this endemic.

Laura Cohen is a junior magazine journalism and women’s and gender studies major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at [email protected]

Published on October 9, 2013 at 1:23 am