Light Green

So when I signed on to Facebook today I was seriously confused. Almost all my friends had changed their status to some color, assortment of colors, or pattern with little to no explanation. So I took the obvious course of action and did what any good little blogger would -- I "Googled" it and came up with this from cancerspot.org :

Wondering what the meaning of those “Black,” “Blue” and “Pink” Facebook status updates are? I was confused all morning, figured I’d sort it out sooner or later, and then I broke down and did some Google work. Found out the hues represent bra colors. So, like every good Facebooker, I played along by peeking in my shirt and updating my status: Beige.

What I turned up on the Internet is that the purpose of this color thing is to simply raise awareness of breast cancer. Not sure how it all got started, but here’s what you should do if you’re a girl (or boy who wears a bra): Look at your bra, note the color, type it in your FB status bar, then feel those boobies. Just re-updated my status after my “beige” remark and wrote this:

So, while you’re peeking inside your shirt to see what color bra you are wearing so you can post it in your status update, go ahead and feel around in there, make sure there are no lumps. And if there are, call your doc for a clinical exam!

Are you game? Hope so.

Some have voiced annoyances and frustrations with the trend saying that it serves no purpose or that it's simply contributing to the massive amount of needlessly shared information on the web. While they have a point, here's my idea about it:

This may have been started by a few girls who wanna confuse their guy friends in the name of a cause, but it can definitely be redeemed.
Since I was in middle school I've been a part of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. In the last couple of years I've had the opportunity to serve as a Team Captain helping fundraising efforts and organizing small parts of the race. Part of the whole process includes a great deal of education on the subject of breast cancer, self examination, and early detection. For those interested I'll include a link to their website where you can learn more ( ww5.komen.org/ ). You hear about "breast cancer awareness" almost all day everyday from a lot of folks, whether it's pink ribbons on your WalMart greeter's vest or pink aluminum lids on your YoPlait.

It's easy just to wear pink and eat yogurt or post your bra color in the name of awareness and feel good about yourself. Don't get me wrong this isn't to say that awareness isn't a good thing, because it certainly is. The more people that know the risks the better prepared we can be. But with all awareness programs, the information isn't enough -- you've got to do something with that knowledge.

Let me put it this way - If you know you're more likely to contract gingivitis if you don't brush and floss and go to regular dentist check-ups and cleanings but decide to just wear an aquafresh-esque ribbon on your purse or a smiley face barrette in your hair instead, you're still prone to the disease. So all this information about breast cancer is great, really great. But if you don't heed the warnings you're still leaving yourself very vulnerable. Proactive is the state of mind I'm shooting for here.

So check yourself out ( ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/InteractiveTools.html), get your girlfriends to check themselves out. If you're over 40, schedule a mammogram this year and every year after that. Keep yourself informed and keep watching for early signs, because while there's still no way to prevent breast cancer your best protection against it is early detection.

And if you feel so inclined to post your bra color on the web -- at least say why....