Did we make our case quietly? No. When 40,000 women are dying each year of a disease, the time is long gone for quiet. In the mid-1970's, when Betty Ford's breast cancer diagnosis caused such a social earthquake, a woman had a one in eleven chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. Today, that number has increased to one in eight. There is no time to waste, and we cannot be quiet, when your life, or the life of someone you care about, may be at risk.

As everyone knows, October has been Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Many choose to mark the occasion by pinning on pink ribbons and thinking how much progress has been made. The National Breast Cancer Coalition asks you to think otherwise -- and to join with us, an organization that has brought major, not incremental, changes to the world of breast cancer. Think about the 250,000 plus women who will be diagnosed this year. The almost 40,000 women who will die of breast cancer. Think of future generations. We need you to help us keep the pressure on Congress, on the presidential candidates, and on the scientific community -- to bring an end to breast cancer.

Take the National Breast Cancer Coalition's awareness quiz:

Awareness vs. Knowledge: What Do You Know About Breast Cancer?