Different Colors of Ribbons for Cancer Survivors

Deciphering the colors of cancer ribbons can be confusing. For instance, if a cancer awareness ribbon is blue, it could be promoting awareness of one of a number of different types of cancers. By learning the significance of different shades of ribbon colors, one can provide purposeful support to cancer survivors.

Shades of Blue

• Pale blue signifies both prostate cancer as well as childhood cancer. Stomach cancer is represented by a close cousin of blue, periwinkle. Teal encompasses ovarian cancer, cervical cancer and uterine cancer. Dark blue cancer ribbons reference colon cancer.

Warm Colors

• Cancer of a person's blood cells, leukemia, is represented by an orange awareness ribbon. Yellow stands for bladder cancer. Gold signifies childhood cancer.

Dark Hues

• Dark colors, such as purple, green and brown refer to pancreatic, kidney and colorectal cancers, respectively.

Soft Colors

• Pink ribbons support cancer survivors of breast cancer. According to the book Ribbon: The Art of Adornment, pale pink ribbons simply indicate breast cancer, while dark pink ribbons indicate inflammatory breast cancer. Peach ribbons are worn to support those who battle with uterine cancer or endometrial cancer.

Unsaturated Colors

• Unsaturated colors, such as white and grey, are significant despite their lack of saturation. White ribbons represent bone cancer, while grey ones suggest brain cancer.