Sheriff's Department Wearing Pink Badges For Breast Cancer Awareness

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A central Minnesota sheriff's office is supporting Breast Cancer Awareness Month with a hot pink tweak to its official uniforms.

Meeker County Sheriff Brian Cruze says that during October his deputies will trade their gold star badges for ones that are bright pink.

The idea for the uniform change came from a deputy who lost an aunt to breast cancer.

"All of us know someone whose life has been impacted by breast cancer," the sheriff said. "Wearing the pink badges is a way for us to show support for those members of our community who are battling the disease, and to raise awareness about the benefits of early detection."

While wearing the pink badges won't be mandatory, a majority of the deputies have purchased them, the sheriff's office says.

Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the mostly commonly diagnosed cancer among women.

If the cancer is detected early, it improves the chances that it can be treated successfully.