My Cancer Rainbow: Blood Cancer Awareness Ribbons
I remember the first time I became aware of Blood Cancer Awareness Month: 2010. I knew other cancers had their own months. It felt good to know I was part of something bigger. It also started my long, confusing relationship with Blood Cancer Awareness ribbons. You’ve seen the ribbons, I’m sure. You may own one, or own a shirt or car magnet with a ribbon on it. Maybe you use it as a profile picture on social media during Awareness Month (I do).
For my first Blood Cancer Awareness month, I wanted to display a ribbon on my blog and my Facebook account. You know – spread some awareness. I searched online for an image I could use. For me, as a follicular lymphoma patient, I found the ribbon for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It’s lime green.1
Or is it?
Lymphoma awareness ribbons: A confusing history
Soon after that first Blood Cancer Awareness Month, I started to wonder just why “our color” was lime green. I did some research, and what I found was a fascinating, confusing history. Apparently, at one time, lime green was the color used for all lymphomas. But then a Hodgkin lymphoma advocate thought his cancer should have its own color, and he chose violet. Eventually, the two colors were merged into one ribbon, half lime green and half violet2.
Join the conversation