It is October, the pink month where breast cancer awareness is spread all around the world. You can notice pink ribbons everywhere; in the form of pins worn by not just women but men as well, Facebook profile photos being changed into pink ribbons, awareness posts shared by everyone with a pink ribbon picture attached, and even people mentioning it during their normal chats.

But, have you ever wondered about the story of this pink ribbon and the relation between it and breast cancer? Here we have the answer to this.

The story behind the pink ribbon started back then in the early 1990s in California by a lady, Charlotte Hayley, who had a battle with breast cancer along with her sister, daughter, and grandmother. Charlotte was 68 years old when she decided to create something to change the world and spread awareness. She started making peach-colored ribbons by her own hands and distributed it in the local supermarkets in her neighborhood attached to cards that read “The National Cancer Institute annual budget is $1.8 billion, only 5 percent goes for cancer prevention. Help us wake up our legislators and America by wearing this ribbon.”

Her act was widely known in a very short time and people started to notice her peach-colored ribbon until the ribbon grabbed the attention of Alexandra Penny. Alexandra was an editor in chief at Self Magazine by that time and she was working on the magazine’s breast cancer issue in 1992. She contacted Charlotte to adopt her idea of the peach-colored ribbon and help her spread it more, but Charlotte refused the offer thinking that was too commercial. It is said that not only Self Magazine that wanted to adopt the idea but the cosmetics company, Estee Lauder as well, but still Charlotte refused for the same reason.

To spread the awareness using the ribbon idea, Self Magazine along with other bodies like Estee Lauder had to change the color of the original ribbon by Charlotte for legal reasons. That was where the first pink ribbon evolved. The color pink is considered the most feminine color in the modern and western countries and that was the reason behind choosing the color. Since then, the pink ribbon became the symbol of breast cancer.

This October, Joi Gifts is encouraging you to spread the awareness everywhere around you. It is really important to do the check-ups on time as doctors say, early detection grantees a higher percentage of recovery. Wear pink, spread awareness, and stay healthy and joyful!