October has a variety of awareness and appreciation months that deserve more recognition. Whether they have been heard of countless times, or this is your first time hearing about them, here are some of the most important awareness and appreciation months in October. First and foremost, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It is the most commonly occurring cancer in women after skin cancer, but not only women can get it. While on average 1 in 8 women in the United States will develop breast cancer in their lifetime, 1 in 1,000 men in the United States will develop it in their lifetime as well. However, breast cancer has a high survival rate, with a 90.3% relative survival rate after five years. About 85% of women who get diagnosed with breast cancer come from families with no history of the disease. However, on the bright side, there are currently more than 2.8 million women living in the U.S. who are breast cancer survivors. Additionally, October is LGBT History Month. 4.5% of the U.S. population, or approximately 15 million people, identify as LGBTQ+, with most of these individuals coming from Gen Z. Out of this percentage, over 39% of individuals report struggling with a mental illness, equal to about 5.8 million people, which is more than the population of Kentucky. Transgender individuals attempt suicide at a rate nine times higher than the entire American population. LGBTQ+ people are twice as likely to smoke, lesbian and bisexual women are ten times less likely to get cancer screenings and gay and bisexual men are 79 times more likely to get diagnosed with HIV. Although Pride Month falls in June, it’s important to learn the history of the LGBTQ+ community in order to properly learn how to show support. There are several awareness months for health conditions that fall in October that are lesser known. For example, October is also Down Syndrome Awareness Month. About 1 in 700 people are born with Down Syndrome. Out of 57% of individuals with Down Syndrome that are employed, only 3% are full-time employees, while 26% are volunteers and 3% are self-employed. October is also Dyslexia Awareness Month. Dyslexia is the most common learning disability and affects 15-20% of the U.S. population. While 1 in 5 people are believed to have dyslexia, only 1 in 20 people are formally identified to have it. 30% of children with dyslexia are also believed to have at least a mild form of ADHD. Besides these more serious months, there are also a variety of interesting and amusing awareness or appreciation months, including Bat Appreciation Month, Church Library Month, International Walk to School Month, National Apple Month, National Go On A Field Trip Month, National Pretzel Month, National Sarcastic Awareness Month and Rhubarb Month. Whether they be funny or educational, there are months like these every single month of the year for everyone to learn! For more information about awareness months and cultural holidays, celebrations, and remembrances, visit the Cultural Awareness Calendar which can be found on the Student Hub Page or @hurst-campuslife Instagram.