It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and things couldn’t be more pink.

The socially conscious shopper can fill her cart with pink Tic-Tacs, special pink-label Campbell’s soup, hot pink Jimmy Choo shoes, special pink-label Coke at Kroger’s stores and pink Estee Lauder lipstick. And if she’s just got to get out of town, she can pack her pink Conair travel blow-dryer and fly aboard Delta’s newly unveiled pink airplane.

These products raise money for breast cancer research, for mammograms for low-income women and, most importantly, for awareness.

But we should be careful about assuming that altruism is the only motivator for the production of these pink products. And we should be even more wary about limiting our participation in Breast Cancer Awareness Month to purchasing them.

When people purchase their pink bagels and tweezers (also products actually available this month), they are left with the notion that they’re contributing to a cause – which they may be doing, but to a lesser extent than they realize.

Take Campbell’s soup. Their pink label campaign will result in a sizeable contribution to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation – $250,000. Campbell’s is doing its job and reaping the benefits of higher sales because of it – but you’re not done with yours after purchasing your pink-label soup. Each soup-can purchase will only result in a 3.5 cent donation.

Certainly, every little bit helps. But breast cancer is too pervasive and deadly to consider your part done with a purchase of a pink label that results in just a few pennies to the cause.

Consider the facts.

More than 2.6 million women have breast cancer right now – and half of them don’t know it.

In 2006, breast cancer will account for nearly one out of every three cancer diagnoses in women.

And more than 45,000 women will die from breast cancer this year.

Concerned? Then don’t let corporations do breast cancer awareness month for you.

If you’re female, learn how to do a breast self-exam – the Komen foundation’s Web site (www.komen.org) has a great guide. And make sure your roommates, sisters, friends and mothers know how as well. If you’re male, don’t shy away from making sure the important females in your life know just how imperative this is.

And make sure your mom is getting a mammogram yearly, like all women over 40 are recommended to do. Seriously, call her.

Early detection is what will decrease breast cancer rates – and these actions should be our focus in October.

If you want to do more, donate to an organization working to fight breast cancer or participate in one of the many fundraising walks this month and throughout the year.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month shouldn’t just be about corporate donations. It should be about personal involvement. So, go ahead and buy that pink yoga mat or those fuzzy pink slippers – but remember, the buck doesn’t stop there.

Opinions Board

Opinions are determined by the Wildcat opinions board and written by one of its members. They are Nina Conrad, Lori Foley, Ryan Johnson, Ari Lerner, Nicole Santa Cruz and Matt Stone.