Color Coordinated Causes

Some people wear silicone wristbands as a fashion statement, or because they're popular, but I wear mine to show support for various family members and friends. The light blue one (as well as the Puzzle Ribbon pin) represents autism awareness; the gold one next is for childhood cancer; the red-and-yellow supports the Children's Miracle Network (Children's Hospitals), and the gray one represents brain cancer awareness. I wear these on behalf of my sons. Both of them have autism, and the older one had a brainstem tumor for which he had two surgeries at Los Angleles Children's Hospital and spent some time in physical rehabilitation there.

The peach color wristband I wear in honor of my mother, who probably has uterine cancer, and the pink band and rhinestone ribbon are for my best friend, who died in March after fighting breast cancer for more than five years. The white one came from the American Cancer Society and represents all cancers, as does the variegated purple one, which says "Cancer Sucks." If I had wristbands for my in-laws, I'd have dark blue for my father-in-law, who died of colon cancer; pearl for my mother-in-law, who died of lung cancer, and light blue for my husband's brother, who has prostate cancer.

Almost everyone knows that the yellow one is a LIVESTRONG band, and it is the first one I had. It not only represents cancer awareness but promotes a healthy lifestyle, which seemed quite appropriate considering I got it at a time I was regularly accompanying my son the brain tumor survivor to the college gym. His tumor and surgeries had left him weak to the point he had to use a wheelchair and a walker for awhile in elementary school, and he was still not physically strong in high school. In college, however, he signed up for weight training and found it suited him. After a couple of semesters, I decided to join him. Some things he can do better than I can, particularly if they involve abs, and a couple of things I can do better, but we're both physically fit.

I have no idea where one might find the Children's Miracle Network or American Cancer Society wristbands, but I got the gray one from the American Brain Tumor Association, and the peach one, the gold one and the purple "Cancer Sucks" one from Choose Hope, Inc., which also has ribbon charms, t-shirts, coffee mugs and other stuff in a lot of different colors. A wide range of autism awareness jewelry is available from Crafts'N'Scraps. The yellow wristbands can be ordered in multiples of ten from The Lance Armstrong Foundation. Pink wristbands and jewelry are available in a lot of places, from drugstores to department stores.