Breast cancer awareness in Houston

United States--The Power of Pink: Sports, Landmarks Host Breast Cancer Awareness Hue

Seeing the White House illuminated in pink recently sparked a conversation in the newsroom about how the color seems ubiquitous around the world during this year's breast cancer awareness campaign. These photos illustrate the point.

On the football field, several warriors in the NFL have worn pink accents as part of their uniforms. Some players sported skull caps, gloves, wristbands, towels or shoes commemorating the fight against the disease, and rushed toward end zones with field goal posts wrapped in pink while the refs blew pink whistles.

Football played with feet also went pink this month, where players shoes, soccer balls and even some fans went pink. A large group of fans made a human bow at center field in Houston. LPGA golfers tapped in with pink shoes as well. A police department even rolled out a pink cruiser.

Christ the Redeemer overlooked Rio de Janeiro with a pink glow, as did the greenhouse at the Botanical Garden of Curitiba in Brazil.

Sydney Harbor Bridge will be lit pink, as will New Zealand's Sky Tower. A few months ago, Aussies headed out on a pink horseback ride and made a giant bow with all their pretty in pink horses in a farm field. That event was not nearly as flashy as when Australia pinked out the Queen Victoria cruise ship as well as the Sydney Opera House in February.

Hopefully all this pink helps people remember that breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death among women(second to lung).

The Susan G. Komen Foundation's fast facts say that a woman in the U.S. is diagnosed with breast cancer every three minutes and another dies every 13 minutes. There is also one fact to be optimistic about; the five-year survival rate when the cancer is caught early is 98 percent.

(source:pbs.org)