Did you know that Kidney Cancer Awareness Month happens in March every year? On top of that, there’s a World Kidney Cancer Awareness Day, too. It usually happens on the third Thursday of June.

If you want to raise awareness for kidney cancer, there are a lot of ways you can participate. Wearing orange, posting on social media, and donating money can all help. Here’s what you need to know to help people learn more about kidney cancer and raise money for the cause.

Why Raise Awareness for Kidney Cancer?

People may have different reasons for wanting to raise awareness around kidney cancer. For instance, many people want to raise money to help fund clinical trials for kidney cancer, to support research to find better, more efficient treatments for kidney cancer, or even to help find a cure. People are often motivated to reduce the burden of this diagnosis and the consequences that come with it.

Others may want more people to know about kidney cancer so they can get screened for it early, which can improve their outcomes. Or you may simply want more people to understand what it’s like to live with kidney cancer, or you may have a loved one with the disease. Sharing the stories of people with the diagnosis can help others understand what it means to be diagnosed with kidney cancer.

Most people raise awareness for a combination of reasons. If you live with or have lived with kidney cancer in the past, you have a loved one with the condition, or you’re the caregiver for someone with a kidney cancer diagnosis, raising awareness can help you feel like you’re doing something real to fight back against this condition.

How To Raise Awareness for Kidney Cancer

There are a lot of ways to raise awareness around kidney cancer. You can choose to do all or some of these, or even make up your own path forward. Remember, especially if you live with kidney cancer, that you can spread awareness or participate in advocacy in ways that are aligned with your energy levels. It may help improve your quality of life to socialize with others who relate to the cause.

Participate in Kidney Cancer Awareness Month

While you can raise awareness for kidney cancer at any time, the best time to do it might be during Kidney Cancer Awareness Month. This happens in March every year.

Because this month is focused on kidney cancer, you won’t be the only one out there raising awareness. Instead, people will be more likely to hear about kidney cancer from several different places throughout the month. This might make them more likely to educate themselves, donate money, and even work to raise awareness themselves.

There’s no one way to participate in this month, but here are a few ideas to get you started.

Choose Orange

Orange is the color designated for kidney cancer. You can wear orange clothing, get free orange ribbon stickers and place them in your community, or make your own orange ribbons.

You may find that other people respond to your orange cancer awareness ribbons and stickers. Many people know that the ribbon symbol is for raising awareness, even if they don’t know the cancer ribbon colors. Each ribbon color stands for a different type of cancer or illness, like emerald for liver cancer, pink for breast cancer, white for lung cancer, gray for brain cancer, black for skin cancer, teal for ovarian cancer, and more. Wearing the ribbon provides others with an opportunity to ask about the condition the color represents, which gives you a good chance to educate them about kidney cancer.

Share on Social Media

If you’re wearing orange or have other photos with an orange theme, share them on social media with the hashtag #OrangeUp. This is an easy way to raise awareness and start conversations with people who otherwise might not hear about kidney cancer.

This is also an opportunity to share your journey with kidney cancer. If that involves sharing about someone else’s diagnosis, make sure you get their permission first. After all, sharing online can feel very personal and vulnerable. However, stories help people see the daily reality of living with kidney cancer, which might move people to learn more and donate money to the cause.

Light Up a Local Building in Orange

During March, cities all over the country light up their public spaces in orange to raise kidney cancer awareness. These lit-up structures include bridges, stadiums, official buildings, and more.

You usually have to request this ahead of time. You’ll need to choose the structure you want to light up, then figure out your local process for requesting that. Once you know the process, use it to request the lighting. Most people try to do it on the first Saturday in March, but any March date will work. When it’s all set up, let kidney cancer organizations and all your local friends and family know what’s going on so they can help spread the word.

Donate to Kidney Cancer Causes

If you feel like you have money to give or you want to raise some, giving it to a kidney cancer organization you trust is a great way to fund more research. Most kidney cancer organizations have easy ways for you to donate money online. That way, you don’t have to go anywhere or do anything other than get online to help the cause.

KidneyCAN also has a program designed to help you set up a fundraiser. No matter what kind of idea you have for raising money, KidneyCAN has resources to help you get it off the ground. That way, you can focus on what you care about (raising kidney cancer awareness) and get help figuring out the logistics, like making a website or organizing an event.

Help Someone Living With Kidney Cancer

One way to raise awareness that might hit closer to home is to help someone who has kidney cancer. This can be a friend, a relative, or anyone you’ve heard of who is living with the disease. You could make them a meal, clean their house, help them find a specialist, or take them to a support group.

If you want to help someone but you don’t know anyone, start asking around. You may find that your neighbors know someone, or you may have a coworker living with the diagnosis. If you can’t find anyone, you could check with the leaders of local support groups to see if they can connect you to someone. Local healthcare providers can tell you where to find these.

Note that this option for raising awareness is better suited to people who aren’t currently living with kidney cancer or caring for someone who has that diagnosis. Unless you have a lot of energy and you really want to, focus on your cancer treatment first. When you feel better, you can try to help others.

Talk With Others Who Understand

On MyKidneyCancerTeam, the social network for people with kidney cancer and their loved ones, members come together to ask questions, give advice, and share their stories with others who understand life with kidney cancer.

Do you want to raise awareness for kidney cancer? How do you plan to get the word out? Share your experience in the comments below, or start a conversation by posting on your Activities page.