By U.S. Senator Deb Fischer

** Audio recording unavailable due to the fall state work period** 

October. The very word brings to mind a flood of images, smells, and memories: football and freshly fallen leaves, the spicy scents of coffee, cider, and apple pie on cool air, and cheers from the bleachers on chilly evenings. October also brings a barrage of colors to our world and our wardrobes: autumn’s browns and deep reds, dusty yellows, bright oranges, and the most vibrant, most defiant color of the season: pink.

Pink is often considered a gentle color. We find it soothing, calming. We associate it with nurseries, frosting on cupcakes, or, maybe a long, slow sunset. But not in October. This month, pink is for fighters.

Every year, Breast Cancer Awareness Month is an opportunity to recognize and empower those fighters. We allknow them. They are our mothers and daughters, our sisters and the friends so close to us they might as well be sisters. They are our beloved grandmothers, our aunts, and relatives. These women are ever-present in our lives, giving strength when we feel frail and comfort when we worry. They laugh with us, cry with us, hope, heal, and love with us. They mourn with us, and, sometimes, they are the source of our mourning.

In my own life, I have seen these fighters in action as they bravely take on this disease. Their strength and resilience during diagnosis, treatment, good days and bad days, is an inspiration.

Roughly one in eight American women will develop breast cancer. Nationwide, more than 2.8 million women have been touched by a diagnosis. That’s about one and a half times Nebraska’s entire population. For women in the United States, breast cancer is second only to lung cancer as the leading cause of death from cancer.

During the month of October, Nebraskans join the vigorous campaign to raise awareness of this disease and recognize those who have borne the battle against it. Businesses in Omaha and Council Bluffs area are painting their windows pink. Catchy, encouraging slogans deliver lifesaving reminders with a smile. Wahoo’s Saunders Medical Center is offering free mammogram screenings. 

Many, many others across our state are doing likewise. In southwest Nebraska, Chase County Community Hospital is inviting families to see its new mammogram machine, one of our most powerful weapons in this war we wage. I’m thankful to the many Nebraskans across our state who will devote time to this meaningful cause.

One additional contributor to that greater awareness has been the Breast Cancer Patient Education Act, which I was proud to cosponsor in the Senate. This bipartisan bill seeks to help educate breast cancer patients and provide important treatment information. As we race to find a cure, it’s important that we also take the time to help patients learn about available services. With this bill, we can help ensure we are creating a better future for women across Nebraska and throughout our nation. 

We have come a long way in the fight against breast cancer, and that gives us hope for the road ahead. We won’t walk it alone. That touch of pink throughout the day, ribbons on lapels or cleats on the football field, provides a surge of hope for all the harder moments in between. A pink October reminds us all to offer that hope to the survivors-to-be.

Thank you for participating in the democratic process. I look forward to visiting with you again next week.