On the night of the 1st of October, 2012, the Sky Tree, a newly-opened landmark tower in Tokyo, sparked in pink. Not only the outstanding tower but also some other landmarks throughout Japan turned pink (
click here). As you may know, these pink lights are for breast cancer awareness. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. When I saw the pictures of Japan landmarks with pink lights
in this link, I thought that Japan is making efforts for breast cancer awareness campaigns. However, when I found photos of London landmarks which turned pink (
click here), I realized again that some Western countries pay more attention to the campaigns.
According to an official announcement, one in every sixteen women actually has breast cancer in Japan (I've heard that one in every seven women has it in the US). The number of its patients, especially the number of those between 45 and 55, has been sharply increasing in Japan. It's been said that one of the main reasons is a surge in women who don't have a birth experience or have their first babies late, which increases the risk of having breast cancer.
Nonetheless, compared with some Western countries, breast cancer screening has been much less popular in Japan. It's been announced that
only about 20% of women in Japan had the screening in 2007, although I think that the current rate of it is slightly higher. Considering the fact that the rate in some Western counties is above 70%, it's clear that Japanese women have to change their attitudes toward the screening. Pink ribbon for breast cancer awareness has become very popular in Japan, however, it hasn't yet made many women realize that they are strongly advised to have the screening.
In Japan, the local government gives us coupons for free or very low-cost breast cancer screening. However, many women still seem indifferent about it. Actually, the government has been also having difficulties encouraging women to have uterine cancer screening. In Japan, the 2009 rate of uterine cervix cancer screening is 21.3%; in America, the rate of it is about 83%. I'm not sure why women are unwilling to have these screenings, but I often hear them say that they hesitate because these screenings are very embarrassing and uncomfortable.
Statistics have shown that, in Japan, one in every two people has suffered from cancer. On top of that,
one in every four men and one in every six women die of cancer. If you just take women in their 40s and 50s who died of cancer, you'll find that the largest percentage of them died of breast cancer. It's been said that if you regularly self-examine your breasts, you will be sure to notice something wrong. Is pink ribbon for breast cancer awareness popular in your country? Do you and your friends regularly have breast cancer screening?
---乳がん検診受診率がかなり低い日本。定期検診・自己検診を始めよう！---
