Breast cancer is common and can be devastating, but it gets a lot more media attention than many other cancers. Here are a few causes that could use a little love while you’ve got your wallet out to buy some pink gewgaws.
The following numbers are from the National Cancer Institute’s list of common cancers, plus some information on skin cancer from the American Society for Clinical Oncology. We’ve ranked them in order of how many deaths they cause each year, and suggested some related charities that focus on research. If you can’t decide, there’s always the American Cancer Society.
Lung cancers: 154,050. Try the Lung Cancer Foundation of America.
Colorectal cancers: 50,630. Try the Colorectal Cancer Alliance.
Pancreatic cancers: 44,330. Try the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
Breast cancer: 40,920 women per year, 480 men. Instead of Komen, consider supporting the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
Liver and intrahepatic bile duct cancers: 30,200. Try the American Liver Foundation.
Prostate cancer: 29,430. Try the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
Leukemias: 24,370. Try the Leukemia Research Foundation.
Non-hodgkin lymphoma: 19,910. Try the Lymphoma Research Foundation.
Bladder cancer: 17,240. Try the Bladder Cancer Research Network.
Kidney cancers: 14,970. Try the Kidney Cancer Association.
Endometrial cancer: 11,350. Try the Foundation for Women’s Cancer.
Melanoma: 9,320. Try the Melanoma Research Foundation.
Non-melanoma skin cancers: 5,860. Try the Skin Cancer Foundation.
Thyroid cancer: 2,060. Try the American Thyroid Association.
There are plenty of other cancer-related charities who could use your support, so view this list as a starting point. There are also rare cancers that didn’t make this list but are still deadly and could use research dollars, so consider supporting those causes as well. Some rare cancer-related organizations are listed at the Rare Cancer Research Foundation.