OREANDA-NEWS. Carrefour Belgium has put its backing behind the Pink Ribbon organisation’s campaign to raise awareness of breast cancer. How? By giving out pink ribbons to “put next to your heart” in exchange for a €3 donation (in hypermarkets only).

The main goal of the Pink Ribbon campaign is to make people more aware of breast cancer, from prevention and screening to treatment and moral support.  When you wear the ribbon, you’re helping to challenge taboos surrounding breast cancer and encouraging friends, families and acquaintances to talk about the disease - with each other and with doctors.

This year, the ribbon has been designed by couturier Edouard Vermeulen from fashion house Natan. He has given it a new look by creating a “tape measure ribbon”. It symbolises both the idea of “keeping in shape” - prevention is about keeping fit (30 minutes of physical exercise a day, keeping off excess weight, eating certain foods and alcohol in moderation, and avoiding smoking) - and “measurement”, because early screening can save lives. The earlier a cancer is detected, the higher a woman’s chances of recovery. Today, women have an 80% chance of beating breast cancer and living a normal life again. This figure rises to 90% if the cancer is detected early.