The heart of Hafnarfjörður is now pink

Pink October is for us all

“We’re pink. We have been diagnosed with or stood by our people during sickness. Now it’s Pink October, so we encourage everyone to take good care of themselves and get screened – It simplifies life,” say Hulda Þórarinsdóttir, Helga Snorradóttir, Kristín Jónsdóttir, Þórey Ósk Sæmundsdóttir, Jenný Dagbjört Gunnardóttir and Karítas Guðmundsdóttir, all working for the town’s educational and public health department, with Gunnhildur Arna Gunnarsdóttir and Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir, mayor. Indeed, in this group there are winners who know how important it is to keep an eye on themselves, as well as relatives.

Vigilance campaign against cancer

Pink October is the annual vigilance hour dedicated to the fight against cancer in women. This year, the Cancer Society is focusing their attention on the families, under the slogan “You change everything”. The Icelandic Cancer Society’s website states: “We would like to thank those who dont expect be thanked, the people who are so important but tend to be forgotten – the relatives.”

The site also reports that in Iceland, an average of 971 women are diagnosed with cancer each year. “Fortunately, there are constant advances in diagnosis and treatment that are leading to more and more survivors. At the end of 2023, there were 10,070 women alive who had cancer, but unfortunately, cancer is still the largest cause of premature deaths in Iceland, and every year we lose an average of around 306 women to cancer.”

Pink Day on October the 23rd

Each year in October, the annual awareness and fundraising campaign of the Icelandic Cancer Society dedicated to the fight against cancer in women begins. On October 23rd, we all wear pink to show our support.