A special ceremony on Tuesday night marked the beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in Lanett.

The water at the new downtown fountain was turned pink on Tuesday and a ceremony was held for men and women who have been impacted by breast cancer in our community.

“We want it to be a symbol of our city,” said Lanett Mayor Kyle McCoy of the fountain. “We will turn it pink this month. Everyone who drives past it will be reminded that this is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.”

The month of October has become synonymous with breast cancer awareness, with everyone from football players to hair stylists doing something to get more people thinking of breast cancer. We can’t think of a better way to utilize the new fountain.

Just about everyone has either been affected personally or know someone who has diagnosed with breast cancer. 

In 2019, 268,600 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the United States, plus another 62,930 cases of non-invasive breast cancer, according to information from breastcancer.org.

An estimated 41,760 women in the U.S. are expected to die in 2019 from breast cancer, a number that has thankfully been declining over the last few decades.

Awareness, as you’d expect, has played a large role in that number going down, as have medical advancements. Turning the fountain pink can only help awareness locally.

This month we plan to tell the stories of local cancer survivors, with a Breast Cancer Awareness special section publishing on Oct. 19.

If you know of someone who has a story to tell, email news@valleytimes-news.com or call us at (334) 644-1101.