Although we are nearing the end of October and thoughts are on pumpkins and tricks and treats, there is still time to focus on the last few days of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Last week, that awareness took on a special significance for those of us at the Gazette when we lost a co-worker and friend. Shawn Arrington, production manager, art director and 15-year employee, lost her 18-month fight against breast cancer.

Her empty desk is a reminder of our loss that has left a huge hole in our hearts.

It's appropriate, then, to think pink.

Breast cancer awareness programs use pink ribbons as reminders of work that's being done in the fight against a disease that claims tens of thousands of lives.

Indeed, pink is the color of the month, from pink paper towels for sale at the grocery story to, believe it or not, containers of cat litter with pink ribbons stamped on the label.

Even airlines were on board, with flight attendants wearing pink uniforms and asking passengers if they wanted to donate to breast cancer research.

With the National Cancer Institute estimates of a woman in the United States being diagnosed with breast cancer every three minutes, a reminder of what an insidious disease breast cancer can be is important, whether it be a pink lid on a yogurt carton, munching pink M&M candies or simply pinning a pink ribbon to your shirt.

The breast cancer movement began in earnest in 1982 when the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation was established. Susan Komen was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1978 when little was known about the disease. She died at the age of 36 and her sister Nancy Brinker, as a promise to Susan to do everything she could to end breast cancer, established the foundation in Susan's memory.

Today there are a number of events connected with the foundation in order to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research. The most prominent is the Komen Race for the Cure, which takes place in cities throughout the country.

The 2008 Komen Puget Sound Race for the Cure held this past June raised $2 million. Several women from Sequim participated in that event.

Says Brinker: "As I look back over the more than 25 years since I founded Susan G. Komen for the Cure, I am amazed at our accomplishments. What began as a promise to my dying sister has evolved into the world's largest grass-roots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures."

Shows what a little determination can do. With the help of Komen affiliates, corporate partners and individual donors, the foundation has saved millions of lives, making the 2.5 million breast cancer survivors the largest group of cancer survivors today.

Since National Breast Cancer Awareness Month began in 1985, both awareness and survival rates have increased significantly. The 2007 survival rate for early stage breast cancer five years after diagnosis was 98 percent, up from 74 percent in 1985.

That's not to say it's time to rest on our laurels. There is still plenty of work to be done since no one knows what causes breast cancer or how to prevent it.

The National Cancer Institute estimates that more than 182,000 women and nearly 2,000 men - yes, men can and do get breast cancer - will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year and that more than 40,000 women and about 450 men will die from the disease.

It's funny how all those numbers don't really mean much until a friend or family member is counted among the "estimates."

Shawn suffered from inflammatory breast cancer, a rare and aggressive form of the disease. It is difficult to treat and often spreads to nearby lymph nodes and other organs quickly.

As a result, the five-year survival rate for patients with IBC is between 25 and 50 percent, which is significantly lower than the survival rate for patients with non-IBC breast cancer.

Shawn was a gifted artist and as the Gazette's production manager, was one of the reasons for our standout feature pages and ads. Throughout the years she won many design awards from the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association.

She was a friend to all of us at the Gazette and brought a sense of humor to work every day. It has been difficult for us to watch Shawn put on a brave face as she went through 13 rounds of chemotherapy and then a round of radiation. Through it all she remained dedicated to her work, her friends and her family. She never gave in to the pain she was surely feeling until she could fight no longer.

Shawn was fortunate enough to travel with her family to Hawaii in mid-August. The Gazette used that trip to fashion a goodbye ad, which bid her aloha. A few readers asked if she had moved to Hawaii. If only that were true.

But, who's to say she isn't snorkeling off a lush, warm island, piña colada in hand, as we speak. Sounds nice, doesn't it? It's a great way to remember our friend and co-worker.

In the meantime, until there is a cure for breast cancer, October will remain a time for pushing the pink toward keeping up the fight to raise awareness and survival rates.

It's what Shawn and all those who have lost their lives to or are fighting breast cancer would want.



Mary Powell can be reached at editor@sequimgazette.com or 683-3311.