Go Beyond Wearing Pink This Breast Cancer Awareness Month

This October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the American Cancer Society is encouraging Southwest Florida residents to do more than wear pink. Through education, screening, fundraising, and community events leading up to Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Southwest Florida on Saturday, October 24, everyone can take meaningful action against a disease that will affect approximately one in eight women during her lifetime.

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in the United States, other than skin cancer, accounting for approximately one in three new cancer cases in women each year. In 2026, an estimated 321,910 women and 2,670 men will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, including 24,700 Floridians. An estimated 42,140 women and 530 men will die from the disease throughout the United States this year.

While breast cancer death rates have declined steadily since 1989 because of earlier detection and advances in treatment, breast cancer remains the second-leading cause of cancer death among women.

“Breast Cancer Awareness Month is an opportunity to turn awareness into meaningful action,” said Marisa Palumbo, senior director, American Cancer Society. “Whether you schedule a mammogram, learn more about your personal risk, support a survivor, or raise funds through Making Strides, every action helps American Cancer Society and our community continue making progress against breast cancer.”

Take Action Through Screening and Prevention

When breast cancer is found early, the five-year relative survival rate is 99%. Regular screening is the most reliable way to detect breast cancer early and before it can spread, when it is often easier to treat successfully.

The American Cancer Society recommends that women at average risk begin annual mammograms between ages 40 and 44. Women ages 45 to 54 should receive a mammogram every year. Beginning at age 55, women may continue annual screening or transition to a mammogram every other year. Women at high risk because of factors such as a strong family history or an inherited genetic mutation, including BRCA1 or BRCA2, should talk with a healthcare provider about receiving a breast MRI and mammogram every year, typically beginning at age 30.

Everyone is encouraged to discuss their personal risk factors and appropriate screening schedule with a healthcare provider. The American Cancer Society’s CancerRisk360™ assessment at cancer.org/cancerrisk360 can also help individuals better understand their risk and identify steps they can take to improve their health.

Southwest Florida Events Leading Up to Making Strides

Throughout Breast Cancer Awareness Month, businesses, volunteers, survivors, thrivers, and community partners across Lee and Collier counties will host activities to raise awareness and funds for the American Cancer Society’s breast cancer mission.

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Southwest Florida

When: Saturday, October 24, 2026

Where: Paradise Coast Sports Complex, 3940 City Gate Boulevard N., Naples

Time: Event begins at 7:00 AM

Registration: MakingStridesWalk.org/SWFL

The 2026 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Southwest Florida walk, presented by STOCK Development, has a fundraising goal of $450,000. Survivors, thrivers, caregivers, families, friends, businesses and community organizations from across Lee and Collier counties are invited to form teams, fundraise, and walk together.

Making Strides is more than a walk. Funds raised help the American Cancer Society invest in lifesaving breast cancer research and provide people facing cancer with personalized guidance, free rides to treatment, free lodging when care is far from home, and access to support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The American Cancer Society has invested more than $600 million in breast cancer research during the past 30 years and has contributed to progress in mammography screening, genetic discoveries, and the development of lifesaving treatments, such as tamoxifen and Herceptin.

To register, start a team, donate or learn more, visit MakingStridesWalk.org/SWFL.