It’s called a Thingamaboob and while the word sometimes draws laughter and even curiosity, it’s actually meant to draw attention to a serious subject.

Canadian Cancer Society spokeswoman Aidan Cole says the word is definitely catchy.

“People often hear the term ‘thingamabob’ or ‘whatchamacallit,’ or whatever. Thingamaboob was fitting because it is breasts that we are talking about,” said Cole.

Four transparent pink beads on the novelty item are attached to a clip that can then be placed on keys or handbags.

Each bead has significance, explained Cole.

The largest bead is just over two centimetres in diameter and depicts the size of a lump a woman might find when she does a self breast exam to check for abnormalities.

The next size down is just over one centimetre in diameter and would represent the approximate size of a lump that might be found during a clinical exam. “The third bead is the average size of a lump that is found by your first mammogram.”

It’s less than a half centimetre in diameter, while the size of the fourth is almost immeasurable, said Cole.

“It’s the average size of a lump found by getting regular mammograms. So, it demonstrates the importance of, if you go for regular mammograms, how your screening can be improved and you can maybe catch the cancer early enough that you can have better treatment options.”

Thingamaboobs are available at the downtown Canadian Cancer Society office on Pandosy Street, between Leon and Lawrence Avenues, kitty-corner to the Chapman parkade. The society requests a minimum $10 donation.

The items will also be available at a special Westside Warriors Battle to Beat Cancer hockey game this Friday night, 7 p.m., against the Merritt Centennials at Royal LePage Place.

“The Warriors are donning special limited edition jerseys. They’re going to auction those jerseys off at the end of the game,” Cole said.

Tickets for the game are also available at the Canadian Cancer Society’s downtown office for $10 each, with $3 from each ticket sold going to the organization.

It’s a discount off the regular $14 ticket price, especially for this event, said Cole.

The jerseys were scheduled to be unveiled Wednesday morning, 11 a.m., at West Kelowna’s Wildcat Helicopters, which sponsored the jerseys.

The breast cancer fundraisers are being held because October is breast cancer awareness month, noted Cole. “It’s the time of the year that we really want to reinforce the message of early detection and screening.”

It’s an important message because one in nine women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, mentioned Cole.

“That’s about 11 per cent of the general women’s population.”

This year, 650 women are expected to lose their battle to breast cancer in B.C., according to Canadian Cancer Society statistics. About 2,700 new breast cancer cases will be diagnosed this year, the stats said.