CRESTVIEW — Pink is the fashionable color on Main Street this month as businesses observe Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Pink ribbons grace lampposts, pink dominates shops and eateries’ window décor and, Thursday evening, pink-clad residents strolled the street in a carnival-like defiance of the deadly disease.
Breast cancer survivors — on four legs as well as two — drew cheers from onlookers when, after enjoying a party in the courtyard of attorney Nathan Boyles and his family’s Yellow River Winery, they paraded to the courthouse gazebo to share stories and be recognized.
The event, sponsored by North Okaloosa Medical Center’s Healthy Women program and the Main Street Crestview Association, was a fun way to address a serious concern, NOMC Healthy Woman and community programs coordinator Alicia Booker said.
“The best way to slip in an important message is to mix it with a little fun, a little music and door prizes,” Booker said. “It’s a good way to draw people to downtown Crestview for a worthy cause.”
In addition to pink-wrapped cupcakes, pink punch, pink lemonade and pink-wrapped candies, there was a serious side to the event.
NOMC surgeons and medical technicians, American Cancer Society representatives and Emerald Coast Hospice staffers answered questions and provided information on topics such as self-examinations.
“We’re not just raising awareness but also raising education,” Booker said.
NOT JUST FOR HUMANS
Humans aren't the only species who can have breast cancer.
Daisy, a Great Dane, wears an “I am a survivor" sign at Thursday's Pink Street Part in downtown Crestview. attention to the importance of checking pets for breast cancer.
“She’s a big girl and likes to stand on the coffee table,” Angie Nousiainen, the dog's owner, said. “When she does, her nipples are at eye level. One day I noticed one seemed different than the other. Just like a human should, we examined her and a found a lump.”
Daisy received a canine mastectomy and now is cancer free, Nousiainen said.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Pink Main Street raises breast cancer awareness (VIDEO)