Bleiki dagurinn 2024

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Every year, this international health campaign runs under the motto “bleikur október”, with its climax on the “pink day”, the “bleiki dagurinn”.

This is about breast cancer, namely prevention, researching the causes, finding therapies to cure or treat breast cancer, as well as advising and supporting women affected and the people around them.

Here in Iceland, the campaign, supported by Krabbameinsfélagið, the Icelandic Cancer Society, is really in the public eye - October is really pink here. In public places, such as here at the roundabout on the bridge in Selfoss, there are pink flags with a ribbon on it; buildings such as the Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík or the church here in Selfoss are illuminated pink.

Well, at the end of October the foil over the spotlight was a bit worn out and last year only half the church was lit in pink, but that also had something.

Bleika slaufan - Pink Ribbon

The "pink ribbon" is the symbol of this annual awareness and fundraising campaign by cancer societies to combat breast cancer in women. You can buy them here in Iceland in numerous shops across the country, the shops took part in the campaign free of charge and, as far as I know, there is no VAT, so all proceeds go directly to the campaign.

The money will be used to offer free advice and support to people with cancer and their families, but also to medical staff and social workers, and to promote research, education and prevention work. All projects aim to prevent cancer, reduce the number of people who die from it and improve the quality of life of those affected and their families.

Bleiki dagurinn 2024

The “pink day”, the highlight of the campaign, was this year on Wednesday, October 23rd.

This day is about two aspects - on the one hand, everyone is encouraged to wear something pink on this day - wear pink, drink a pink milkshake or post your pink soup or pink salad. Give the day a pink glow and give a sign of support and solidarity to all women who have been diagnosed with cancer.

On the other hand, companies that support this campaign offer certain services and products from which part of the proceeds go directly to the campaign. At the electrical retailer, for example, 10% of the proceeds from all pink products sold go to the campaign throughout the week, a health salon donates the daily proceeds from October 23rd, a pink Zumba party donates the entry fees, bakeries and pastry shops take part, sometimes offering extra pink candy and donate a portion of the proceeds, numerous companies (from fitness companies to clothing stores and galleries to payment service providers) participate and donate a certain percentage of the proceeds.

In this way, public attention for cancer is gained, including on social media, as well as concrete financial support for the numerous projects.

This year, 2024, the campaign around the “bleika slaufan” is celebrating its 25th anniversary . There was also a special anniversary exhibition at the beginning of October, at which all of the cancer society's "Pink Ribbons" were shown from the beginning, a different ribbon every year. Additionally, 9 artists have designed special t-shirts that will be auctioned off to support the Icelandic Cancer Society. This auction runs until October 31st.

A few figures from the Icelandic Cancer Society

According to official figures, Iceland had exactly 383,726 inhabitants on January 1, 2024, around 49% of whom were women. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in Iceland, accounting for approximately 1/3 of all cancers diagnosed in women. From 2018 to 2022, an average of 971 women per year in Iceland were diagnosed with breast cancer.

By the way, around 1% of people suffering from breast cancer are men.

From 2017 to 2024, a total of 562 million crowns were awarded to 58 Icelandic cancer research projects from the Icelandic Cancer Society's science funds. That's the equivalent of around 3.8 million euros.

[Translated from here.]