When I was in second grade, my mother took me aside and said she had some bad news – she had breast cancer. Afterward, all I remember is being very confused and not knowing what would happen to her.

She had chemotherapy for about a year, and the cancer eventually went into remission. She was free from the disease, but because I was only a child, the situation definitely affected me.

Both my grandmother and my great grandmother had breast cancer, too. So, this is a disease that has afflicted my whole family. It’s also a disease that I should probably be concerned about getting myself.

I don’t think I’m the only one that should be worried about this, either. According to breastcancer.org, one in eight women in the United States will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.

Besides lung cancer, the death rates for breast cancer are higher than any other cancer in women. Furthermore, a woman’s risk for breast cancer doubles if she has a direct relative who had it.

Even if a woman has no relatives that have had breast cancer, she is still at risk. In fact, 70 to 80 percent of women who get breast cancer have had no family history of it. And that is why I think breast cancer should be something that everyone is concerned about.

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is important because it makes society start thinking about a cure. If more people are informed about breast cancer, it is possible that more research will be done and a cure will be found. It’s also important because it honors everyone who has battled with breast cancer, whether the battle was won or lost.

I know I’m going to wear my pink ribbon pin to honor my mother, my grandmother and my great-grandmother. But even if you haven’t been directly influenced by breast cancer, October is still a good time to wear pink. The more people who are informed about breast cancer, the closer we are to a cure.