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Since 1985, the world has turned pink every October. From campaigns by global fashion brands to heritage monuments illuminated in pink hues, Breast Cancer Awareness Month has become an act of support and solidarity. In India, corporates and public institutions also join this movement. For instance, this year, on September 30, Hyderabad’s historic monuments were lit in pink to mark the occasion.  

Yet behind this sea of pink lies an unsettling truth—breast cancer awareness in India has become more of a spectacle than substance. Although awareness has destigmatised the disease, it has also been taken over by commercial interests that downplay its urgency. 

The Pink Ribbon paradox

Once a symbol of solidarity, the pink ribbon has now become a marketing logo. In his research titled “An Analysis of the Social Construction of Breast Cancer Awareness in Media and Cause-Related Marketing” (2024), Cole Challand notes that the breast cancer activism’s shift from a medical to a “demedical” survivor discussion allowed corporations to exploit the cause through cause-related marketing, a practice widely termed as pinkwashing. Many brands, from alcohol companies to fashion houses, use the ribbon to enhance visibility rather than fund meaningful care. 

A recent controversy depicts this perfectly. W Magazine apologised after hosting a “pink-themed” party in South Korea, featuring champagne and celebrity selfies under the premise of “awareness”; a reminder that glamour often replaces genuine advocacy. Products and events that profit from gendered aesthetics frequently overshadow the structural inequities that determine who gets diagnosed and who gets treated. 

The lighting up of Hyderabad’s historic monuments in pink drew attention to the colour, but not to the causes of delayed diagnosis, high treatment costs, or inadequate rural screening. Such initiatives offer visibility but not necessarily access.  Just as the market has diluted the meaning of awareness, the state’s own efforts risk mirroring this superficiality.

Policy gap beneath pink glow

The National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (2023-2030) (NP-NCD) in India recognises breast cancer screening as a part of population-based services. The operational guidelines mandate screening for cancers of the oral cavity, cervix, and breast at primary health care levels and link them to Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (ABHWCs). Yet implementation remains uneven. 

Despite being the most common cancer among women in India, breast cancer is often diagnosed only at advanced stages. The Global Cancer Observatory, IARC-WHO, 2022, reported that for every 10 women diagnosed with breast cancer, approximately five women die from the disease in India.

According to the NAMS Task Force Report on Breast Cancer (2024), India records around 200,000 new breast cancer cases every year. Diagnostic infrastructure is mostly concentrated in urban areas. Nearly all of the 3,000 mammography units are located in metro and tier-1 cities, leaving rural women dependent on clinical breast examinations or ultrasound services of variable quality. The report also highlighted that over 60% of patients are diagnosed at Stage 3 or Stage 4, by which time the disease has already significantly progressed, impacting treatment outcomes. 

Hospital-based registries indicate that just 29% of patients are diagnosed at a localised stage (confined to breast tissues only and has not spread to nearby lymph nodes or other body parts), while 57% present with loco-regional stage (spread beyond the breast to nearby lymph nodes (especially in the armpit or chest wall) but not to distant organs) and 10% with distant metastasis (spread to distant organs, such as lungs, liver, bones, or brain). 

According to the NP-NCD (2023), non-communicable diseases account for 63% of all deaths in India, yet the health expenditure for cancer care is still largely out-of-pocket. Universal Health Coverage under Ayushman Bharat offers limited financial support for tertiary cancer treatment.   

The guidelines depend heavily on community health workers such as ASHAs and ANMs for outreach and risk assessment. While their role is crucial, overburdening them without adequate incentives or diagnostic tools limits the programme’s effectiveness. Cancer screening is only as strong as its follow-up system.

Reclaiming the narrative

Breast cancer awareness originally emerged from women’s movements that sought to reclaim agency and visibility in a patriarchal medical system. Today, however, this agency is diluted by corporate storytelling that commodifies survivorship. As Challand argues, awareness, which once meant sharing knowledge among women, is now often a marketing pitch tied to consumer goods. The slogan “buy pink, save lives” converts solidarity into sales. 

Awareness campaigns should amplify survivors’ lived experiences, advocate for affordable screening, and push policymakers to strengthen community-based oncology care. Partnerships between civil-society groups, state health departments, and women’s collectives can ensure culturally sensitive outreach, especially in regions where discussions about women’s bodies remain taboo. 

Policy-driven future  

Stronger collaboration between the NP-NCD and Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) can ensure that screening leads to subsidised treatment and palliative care, which will reduce delays in bureaucracy.

Decentralised oncology units should be established as district-level cancer centres under the NP-NCD framework. This will ensure access to diagnostics, chemotherapy, rehabilitation, radiotherapy equipment, regular drug supply, etc. Expanding population-based cancer registries and using the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) will enable real-time tracking of screening and treatment outcomes. Psycho-oncology support must be institutionalised within ABHWCs to address survivors’ mental health needs.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds for breast cancer awareness should be regulated to ensure that direct financial contributions are made to government cancer registries and public hospitals. This will enhance transparency, which will require corporates using this cause to disclose funding contributed towards treatment and research.

If English-language urban campaigns can be replaced with multilingual education drives led by ASHAs, self-help groups, and local NGOs, breast cancer awareness can be culturally accessible and stigma-sensitive, broadening community-based communication. 

Illuminating monuments in pink does not change the reality of women silently battling breast cancer. True awareness must move beyond symbols to systems that save lives. October should no longer be a spectacle of ribbons, but a reminder of responsibility—a month to demand policy accountability and equitable, continuous care for every woman.

Lubna Ludheen is a Research Associate at the Centre for Development Policy and Practice (CDPP) in Hyderabad. CDPP is an independent research organisation working to influence public policy with a focus on the development of vulnerable populations.