October's Daily Encounters with "pink stuff"

KittyGirl2011

Thanks Sunflowers, that is just awesome!  I will do it and see what happens.  Like I said even if they use real "survivors" it would not be so bothersome to me.  They don't even need to show scars, burns, ports, etc., JUST REAL victims and their story of this terrible disease that affects so many women. Okay, I'm done ranting on this, thanks for listening.  For my part I did what I felt I had to do.  As Gomaz Addams would say, "Down Kitty, down" !

cycle-path

Kitty: when you get a response like that, write back and say that your questions were not addressed, and that you want a real answer from a live person, not an auto-responder. If you keep it up, you may eventually get to a real person.

Anonymous

Kitty

I HONOR your anger - and so appreciate your acting on it!  Breast cancer is deadly, painful, bloody - not at all the things we associate with "pink" - especially when it's what I call "pink washing" - you can almost HEAR the Marketing Department of evey company thinking : "well, it's so recognizable and we've got a whole month to really try to capitalize on it to sell  more of our products."

This is gross- so top ready if you have a weak stomach - but you know how the "Joke Stores" often have a brown rubbery lumpy thing that 's supposed to resember dog poop - how about a pile of PINK PUKE - or at least a sticker we could go around and slap on everything pink thing we see in stores.

Oh, well, nevermind - there'd be tooooooooooo many - just tell me, Is it November yet?????

amontro

Tori - I guess I can't park in a space that says "reserved for breast cancer awareness survivors" because I wasn't involved in the "awareness" aspect, and I'm not a survivor. I have Stage IV with mets to lung and spine.

voraciousreader

I came across this column and thought I'd share it...Haven't a clue who she is, but I hear her loud and clear:

Courtney Cachet

Designer, TV Personality, Style Slave, Writer, Ninja

GET UPDATES FROM Courtney Cachet Like144

Why I Took a Pass On Pink

Posted: 10/25/11 11:09 AM ET Follow Breast Cancer , Breast Cancer Awareness , Cancer , Thyroid Cancer , Healthy Living Body , Healthy Living Health News , Breast Cancer And Pink , Breast Cancer Pink , Pink October , Healthy Living News

As someone who talks about all the stylish must-haves with great frequency, it's safe to say I am on the speed dial of thousands of people behind these products. Most of them know me fairly well and know that a mid-century couch or a Dior cross body bag are more me; Bed-In-A-Bag and Dooney & Bourke are markedly less me. One thing nobody seems to notice is that year after year I never speak about anything pink in October.

As October comes to a close, my office is still receiving a plethora of pitches on all things pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It's not that it doesn't "fit into the Cachet brand" as one person put it, or that I have some aversion to pink or breast cancer. It is simply that I find it a little offensive. Yeah, offensive. For a couple of reasons. Let me explain.

First, while I admire how these "pink" marketing efforts have raised awareness and removed a little bit of the stigma that goes along with discussing cancer, I feel they have, to a certain degree, over simplified a very serious topic. Cancer is not all pink and girly, it is a horrible disease, and sometimes it kills people. Buying pink tennis balls, pink face cream, pink curling irons or Kentucky Fried Chicken in a tub (really?) will help cure breast cancer far less than if the money was just donated directly to an organization like The American Cancer Society. I am not here to advocate for one charity or diss another.

But, I would rather see people's money sent to an organization that focuses on research first and then screening. It seems kind of odd to me that most organizations have it the other way around. Screening has been found to be very effective in early detection, but wouldn't actually finding a cure be better? In these difficult times where charitable organizations are all vying for the same donations, it would seem a more coordinated cancer prevention effort would prove to be more beneficial for everyone. Especially the patients.

Every time I see something in a magazine or a commercial on TV all about "pink," I cannot help but think of the father sitting in a hospital bed battling colon cancer, the 12-year-old with leukemia, the young woman on her third round of chemo for ovarian cancer, the tycoon with pancreatic cancer, the surfer with skin cancer and the perfectly healthy young woman who never saw it coming. What kind of message does that send to them?

Breast cancer is more important than your cancer. That's what it says.

And I don't support that. I support the research, education, awareness and support of ALL types of cancer, not just ones that come in the color pink every October.

This October I won't buy the pink blow dryer, but I will quietly mark my seven year anniversary of overcoming thyroid cancer. Seven years of good luck, I'd like to think.

No ribbon, pink or otherwise. Just a clean bill of health, and that's all we really want anyway.

XO
Courtney

cycle-path

Great column, voracious. Thanks for sharing!

3jaysmom

yes, great article.....3jays

cycle-path

At Staples today I noticed that at least some of the proceeds from buying all the pink office supplies go to City of Hope, a local cancer center, rather than Komen. I approve of that.

shells43

I work in a lab and have been helping two of my grad students with their theses and defenses, and they sent me a flower arrangement from 1-800-Flowers Pink Ribbon collection as a thank you. I thought it was really sweet of them, despite my recent bashing of Pinktober. 10% goes to the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund, which I have never heard of, but at least it is research. I hope. They also mentioned BCO on their BC information page.

3jaysmom

yeah!!! just us telling people works.. its a grass roots rebellion...........3jays

3jaysmom

since today is the last day HURRAYYY!!! I wanted to show you a friend of ours, who walked for me, and bco this year . (probably susan komen but his hearts in the right place!) he's a sil of a friend, but a great friend of mine, as you'll see... he's  alos CRAZEEE.. see what YOU think.. i think you'll agree.......3jay

3jaysmom

3jaysmom

3jaysmom

sorry, dont know how to do more than one at a time.....3jays

voraciousreader

ShelleyJ...Carol Baldwin is Alec Baldwin's mom. 

3Jaysmom...LOL!

shells43

3Jaysmom - awesome!!!!!

Alec Baldwin's mom? Ok then, a little star power behind that one!  Hugs all.

mdg

3 jays:  love your friend's enthusiasm!

3jaysmom

thanks, ladies. it was a complete surprise when he sent us the photos and asked for names... hes anut..

 it took me 2 weeks to remember where they were in my computer, and get them here  lol.....3jays

mumito

Whoo Hooo Oct is finished. Even the bottle of red that I bought for this evening had a pinkribbon tag on it.

mdg

Well we got through pinktober.....thanks for humoring me ladies with all the photos and contributions.  It made the month more tolerable!!!! 

LtotheK

In celebration of the last day of Pink October, here is an article from NPR on Pink Fatigue.  One of our great minds and writers, Barbara Ehrenreich, comments on the sexualization and simplification of breast cancer through these pink campaigns.

She has also criticized our capitalist system, suggesting Pink October products do far less for raising money for the cause than creating tons of revenue for companies targeting us with new products.

http://www.wnyc.org/npr_articles/2011/oct/16/amid-breast-cancer-month-is-there-pink-fatigue/ 

LtotheK

Just a note, FWIW:  I would have thought during Pink October it might have triggered a call or email from some of my friends and colleagues who I don't hear from much.  It didn't.  I think in our advertising infested landscape, we are so lulled by images we hardly discern anymore.

rachelvk

I'm back from surgery (wed) and recovering, and very happy that Pinktober is coming to an end. That column up there is wonderful and I think strikes the best chord of anything I've seen published this month. Someday I'll get to an article of my own.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share this from my sister's Facebook page:

Today is a day that reminds me why I do what I do; why I come to work every day. It is for people like my sister, who need people fighting for them. To all those who are out there trying to find treatments and cures - thank you for doing what you do!

I'm close to my sister, but I'm seeing her in a whole new light now. Let's hope they really get the research going on all cancers - and make it available. 

dlb823

I stopped @ Wal-Mart over the weekend to stock up on Scotch Brand Shipping Tape, and I almost didn't see it at first because their familiar red plastic packaging has turned pink.  I only bought a couple of them because I didn't want to look at pink for the next few months.  But looking at them today, it does say that 3M will donate .25 from each purchase to City of Hope for Breast cancer research, treatment and education, which I think is a very generous (more than 10% of retail), legit and classy way of helping.       Deanna

lbrewer

up to the $100,000 limit in the small print of course.!

SharonMH

Hi the famous Cardiff Kook is showing his pink side today!

SharonH 

SharonMH

 Hi, the famous Cardiff Kook is showing his pink side!

SharonH 

shells43

That's pretty cool, Sharon!

I got my snarky shirt (see page 8) site up and running. If you want the web address, PM me. I don't want to be accused of soliciting!

Juliebell22

I was diagnosed in april of 2011 just 4 months after my 40th birthday. I am a single mother of a 4 year old with no insurance, self employed. I recieved no financial assistance from my daughters father or the government. I felt pains in my left breast for 8 months before i felt a lump. I thought the pain was just hormonal as cancer isnt supposed to hurt. When I found the lump, it took me 2 months to schedule a mammogram, as i didnt know where to go, and didnt have the funds. a friend recommended the breast center i went to. When I called they said they had vouchers that covered the cost of my mammogram and ultrasound since i had a lump. The vouchers were supplied by the Komen foundation. I was diagnosed the day of my mammogram as i not only had a 6cm tumor, but also nodes in my axilla that should up on the ultrasound. The Komen foundation went on to cover my bone scan/cat scan/ mri, my wig ( which I chose not to get), my 200.00 post surgical camisole, and all of my post surgical meds. Probably a total of about 15,000.00. I was very sick of seeing pink in Oct too. I think many charity organizations have people who abuse their funding. I will always stand behind Komen though for all they have done for me.

shells43

Juliebell22, yours is just the story we need to hear about! So glad you got some direct help from Komen. They need to put out more of the good work they do to help their image. Wow, I'm thrilled for you. I hope you are finding your way through treament now and that you will continue to get the support you need. Our dx's are similar, so if you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

When I went to our local ACS chapter, the floor felt like it was falling in and some old lady showed me the closet of old, used wigs even my Grandma wouldn't have wanted, scarfs, some new hats crocheted by volunteers, etc. They had a few prostheses, but nothing my size. I was really disappointed and it was really depressing at that particular time (still trying to figure everything out).