Although people typically associate the month of October with spooky season and the beginning of fall foliage, the month is also known as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast Cancer Awareness Month dates back to 1985, when the American Cancer Society picked one week in October and teamed up with the pharmaceutical division of Imperial Chemical Industries – now part of AstraZeneca, which has worked to develop medicines for breast cancer treatment. The initial goal for the week-long event was to raise awareness towards breast cancer screenings and mammograms. First Lady Betty Ford was diagnosed with breast cancer when her husband, former US president Gerald Ford, was in office. As a breast cancer survivor, she initially helped bring attention to the disease during the week-long event. Over the years, the original week transformed into a month-long event. The goals for Breast Cancer Awareness Month have also evolved over time, such as supporting people diagnosed with breast cancer and metastatic breast cancer, educating people about breast cancer risk factors, stressing the importance of regular screening starting at age 40, and fundraising for breast cancer research. However, the well-known pink ribbon associated with Breast Cancer Awareness Month wasn’t introduced until the 1990s. The inspiration for the ribbon dates all the way back to 1979, when the wife of a hostage who had been taken in Iran tied yellow ribbons around the trees in her front yard as a symbol of her desire to see her husband return home safely. Ribbons were also used years later during the AIDS epidemic, when activists made bright red ribbons to represent those affected by AIDS. The AIDS ribbon was made mainstream after the 1991 Tony Awards, when actor Jeremy Irons was the first to publicly wear the pinned ribbon with a singular loop while hosting the awards show. A woman named Charlotte Haley is attributed with the creation of the Breast Cancer Awareness ribbon, as she was the granddaughter, sister, and mother of women who have all battled breast cancer. Initially, she designed the breast cancer ribbon to be peach-coloured instead of pink. With each ribbon, she passed out a card that read: “The National Cancer Institute annual budget is $1.8 billion, only five per cent goes for cancer prevention. Help us wake up our legislators and America by wearing this ribbon.” Because of her success in passing out thousands of ribbons, many corporations and news outlets reached out to Haley asking to showcase her ribbons and the message she was promoting. She declined each offer as she believed they were “too corporate”, but Self magazine was increasingly persistent. The magazine’s lawyer insisted they change the symbol’s colour, and the pink ribbon was born. In October 1992, the pink ribbon first spread across the nation after Estée Lauder displayed the symbol on its cosmetic counters throughout the country. While the iconic shade of pink is normally associated with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, other colours have been introduced, including hot pink for inflammatory breast cancer; teal and pink for hereditary and gynecologic cancers; pink and blue for male breast cancer; and teal, pink, and green for metastatic breast cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women after skin cancer. There is a 13 per cent chance, or one in eight chance, that a woman will develop breast cancer at some point in her lifetime. Although breast cancer is more typically associated with women, it can also occur in men. In 2021, President Joe Biden designated 17 October to 23 October as Men’s Breast Cancer Awareness Week. While Friday the 13th may be a spooky-themed day, don’t forget that it’s also Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day. Read More Elizabeth Hurley issues reminder to women about getting mammograms as she raises awareness about breast cancer Amy Dowden delights Strictly Come Dancing fans in surprise appearance amid breast cancer treatment Jill Biden urges women to get mammograms or other cancer exams during Breast Cancer Awareness Month Elizabeth Hurley issues reminder to women about getting mammograms Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne ‘plan to be euthanised’ if they lose mental abilities Billy Connolly says reports of his ‘demise have been greatly exaggerated’

Rihanna has stepped down as CEO of her lingerie brand, Savage X Fenty. On Friday (23 June), the billionaire beauty mogul appointed Hillary Super, the former CEO of Anthropologie Group, to take her place as CEO. Rihanna has held the position since she founded Savage X Fenty in 2018. Rihanna, who will remain in a leadership role as executive chair, said in a statement: “It’s been beautiful to see our vision for Savage X Fenty impact the industry at such an incredible magnitude over the last five years. This is just the beginning for us, and we’re going to continue to expand in ways that always connect with the consumer.” “I’m so grateful and excited to welcome Hillary Super as our new CEO – she is a strong leader and is focused on taking the business to an even higher level.” Hillary Super was CEO at Anthropologie Group for four years, and previously held leadership positions at Guess, American Eagle, Gap, and Old Navy. “I’m thrilled to join the Savage X Fenty family,” Super said. “The brand is a major powerhouse in the lingerie and apparel industry, and its unwavering commitment to celebrating inclusivity and fearlessness is inspiring.” More follows… Read More A$AP Rocky calls pregnant Rihanna his ‘wife’ as she watches him perform in Cannes Pharrell Williams makes his Louis Vuitton debut in star-studded Paris show Rihanna and A$AP Rocky celebrate son’s first birthday

Social Security benefits pump a large chunk of change into the US economy -- with about $1.4 trillion going to more than 67 million Americans last year alone.

It’s official: Prime Day 2023 is scheduled for July 11-12, so get those wishlists ready.

Three cheetah cubs born to a big cat brought to India from Africa last year died in the past week in central India’s Kuno National Park

Britain’s mortgage market has become a horror show for borrowers and the government as soaring interest rates threaten

As of July 25, both the Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones and QuietComfort II earbuds are

Opossums have a bad reputation, but they’re smarter and more beneficial to people than other woodland denizens. Discover more about these unique marsupials here.

In the lightless deep sea, an octopus settlement thrives atop a tranquil volcano. Scientists at

Threads, Meta's Twitter/X alternative, got a rough start. It was missing all kinds of features,

Virtual reality headsets and smart glasses are about to get a lot snappier thanks to

Xochitl Torres Small was sworn in as deputy agriculture secretary of the US Department of Agriculture on Monday, making history as the first Latina in the No. 2 position.