This question has been asked here many times before, and for years we have stayed away from doing anything like this. There are over 7,500 registered trademarked colors on ribbons etc. for causes that most of us never have heard of. At the end of the day we have in the past stayed away from this because other than pink, breast cancer, red AIDS, Yellow Lance Armstrong's foundation - no one really knows what the hell you are wearing and unless they ask you about it they will never know.

Another H&N organization put up on their own, without checking with anyone else in the arena, a burgundy creme burgundy striped ribbon to wear. You don't see them very much, and again, no one outside of a very small group of people even know what they stand for. Another H&N organization has a purple ribbon. Bottom line no one knows. As to the teal one.... from a blog site that has been around less than a year, that was probably picked because it matches their web site, since no one in the 13 years I have been involved in this has ever seen it. Some people just want to be putting out their own "brand" and are not really team players with others in the arena.

As to the material, silicone rubber is used, and not leather because it is indestructible in water or wherever. My prototype 11 year old one has been beat to death, and like a Timex it takes a licking and still delivers it message while looking brand new today, and it's never been off my wrist.

We picked burgundy since it was sort of out there already related to head and neck, but no one wants to wear a multicolor band with a suit (I have worn my yellow original prototype LiveStrong bracelet that Lance gave me before they were even sure they were going to do them a decade ago, every day since with suits or shorts.) Would I wear a multicolored gaudy band in every situation I have been in for the last decade working on this disease? No. Simple look, simple statement that has some meaning, not advertising any particular organization works best in my book. When we picked our wording we thought what everyone involved with the cause could get behind. WE ALL WANT TO MAKE ORAL CANCER HISTORY... SOMETHING IN THE PAST. OR IF YOU ARE A RESEARCHER, SOMETHING THAT IS YOUR GOAL, WITH BREAKTHROUGH KNOWLEDGE OR IDEAS.

We picked a saying that was generic to an idea, not to OCF. That makes them good for many people in the H&N world to use. They were originally designed to be given away in April to donors and at our events, but the demand in the last 2 weeks since we have announced them has been overwhelming. Will we trade mark the color to OCF, or to the disease? Not a chance. At the end of it all, hopefully people will ask you about it when you wear it. And if other organizations want them we will give them to them.

I get asked all the time about my buttons that I wear on my jackets that say, Have you had one?, Dental exams save lives, Is a killer hiding right under your nose? None of which say oral cancer, but all of which are designed to make people curious enough to ask me what they mean. Then watch out, they are definitely aware of oral cancer when I am done explaining it to them.

We are already considering ordering a second batch of these given the initial response. I hope that at least with those of us in the community they catch on. We need people to talk about this disease. We need to raise awareness of it and the risk factors. We need to remember the toll it takes. We need people to have discussions with of us that know how horrible this disease is. It isn't a fashion statement, it is a tool.

Make oral cancer history. That's our saying on these, and I hope I live to see it be a reality. Since this is oral cancer awareness month, any donation to OCF gets you a wristband in return plus your tax credit for your donation from uncle Sam. After April they will be for sale in the web store on the main site. Cheap, the idea is to get the message out there.

So for those of you that are ready to be the pointy end of the spear in changing all this, please jump into the discussion and use our bands or buttons to get the dialog started, YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE THROUGH WHAT SEEMS LIKE A SIMPLE ACT, AND A BIT OF KNOWLEDGE PASSED ON TO OTHERS.