What prompted ace cyclist Lance Armstrong to hit upon the idea to use rubber cancer bracelets to fund cancer research? No one knows. But the signature yellow rubber cancer bracelets worn by the seven-time Tour de Force champion and cancer survivor quickly caught on as a common fundraising tool. And young people soon turned wearing them -- in all colors and with all kinds of messages stamped on them -- into a trend.

The rubber wristbands have been around for decades as 'baller bands' -- worn by basketball players because of restrictions against metal jewelry. But the trend really caught on with Armstrong's cancer bracelets.

The Lance Armstrong Foundation says that more than 52 million 'LiveStrong' bracelets have been sold already! But millions of other rubber cancer bracelets have also been sold. And that is without counting the millions, maybe billions, of all other kinds of rubber wristbands that have been sold or are being sold all over the world -- rubber bracelets for tsunami relief, for showing support to American troops, for just about anything, and nothing! In fact, they are now the coolest thing that anyone can sport on one's wrists. Though called rubber bracelets, these are actually made of synthetic rubber, or silicone gel.

When you buy a LiveStrong rubber cancer bracelet, $1 from its proceeds is donated to the Lance Armstrong Cancer Foundation! That is, $52 million has been raised for cancer research already! The LiveStrong rubber cancer bracelets are made by sportswear major Nike. Cancer is 1the second largest cause of death in the United States and one out of four deaths will come from cancer

Now you have a different color rubber cancer bracelet for different types of cancers. In terms of popularity, after the yellow rubber cancer bracelets come the pink ones. The pink rubber cancer bracelets are worn as a show of support for breast cancer patients. There are still more colors of bracelets for colon cancers, prostrate cancers, and so on. But it is well nigh impossible to do a color-coding chart for the rubber cancer bracelets and the types of cancers they represent. Simply because so many of them are being brought out by different organizations across the world.

There are people who take wearing their rubber cancer bracelets seriously, and there are those who hate the sight of them. But it can't be disputed that these rubber wristbands have brought charity into the life of the common man. They have also succeeded in bringing some of the bitter realities of existence -- as well as joys - into the plane of society's consciousness like never before.