STEAM ROOM FOR ANGER

DancingElizabeth

Well said Lita!!!

To me - what’s also cruel - is when children get cancer. I work in health care. And, it’s heart-breaking to see little ones facing this...I just HATE it!!!

AliceBastable

Oh, I really like All Cancers Matter! I'd hate for Sidney the Missing Kidney to be jealous of Quincy the Quince-Shaped Lopped Breast, or of Hyacinth the Hysterectomied Lady Parts, or Basil the Basal Cell Mohs Moaner!

I do wish cancer hadn't been turned into a competitive sport by some organizations. I'm rather fond of Stand Up To Cancer since they target all of them.

mustlovepoodles

I agree, Alice. Everybody wants to talk about cancer of the breasts (so pretty), but they don't seem as enthusiastic about brain cancer, leukemia, or colon cancer. We have only begun having conversations about prostate cancer, and let's not even get started on lung cancer. Show up with lung cancer and everyone assumes that you brought it on yourself by smoking, ya big dummy. ALL cancers should matter to EVERYONE because none of us are out of the line of fire.

bcincolorado

Agree--stand up to cancer targets them all. It all stinks for everyone dealing with it.

Artista964

I refuse to participate in my small hospital's think pink even in a couple weeks. First, hate pink. Next, other cancers are buried even though colon cancer has a color, pancreatic is purple.. pancreatic is the worst one. You are lucky if you get a couple years with tx. It really should be cancer awareness mo with talk about all cancers.

Mominator

All cancers matter.

Pancreatic cancer scares me. There are no screening tests, there are few early warning signs. Most pancreatic cancers are diagnosed as late stage. 

While pancreatic cancer survival rates have been improving from decade to decade, the disease is still considered largely incurable. According to the American Cancer Society, for all stages of pancreatic cancer combined, the one-year relative survival rate is 20%, and the five-year rate is 7%.

At last count, Myriad was tracking about 24 genes and their mutations that cause increased risk for hereditary cancers. Pancreatic cancer is common on several of the breast cancer genes, including BRCA1, BRCA2, SKT-11, and CHEK-2. 

MelissaDallas

A lovely young woman I worked with got pancreatic cancer. She never drank and was slender. She had several young kids. She was the best seamstress I ever knew. She had the most beautiful clothes and she made them all. She only lasted a few months. I will never forget how shocking because ofhow fast it was.

Artista964

my friend's sister was dxd a month after me with pancreatic cancer. Went from abdominal pain to dead in 3 mo.

JJOntario

I use to absolutely love the colour pink. It was my favourite colour. So sucks that I can't look at it the same. I just got my consultation appointment for my basal skin c under my eye and I'm not looking forward to yet another scar. Just so frustrating that since treatment for BC is sort of done that I'm now paying attention to other parts of my body that were neglected. I'm also scheduling my first colonoscopy as my Mom passed from that before she was 70. Ugh!!

SheliaMarie

I appear to be in the minority. I still love pink. And it in no way bothers me that October is plastered with it. It gets people talking, and people talking brings up other cancers. All cancers do matter, but I don’t understand why people with breast cancer seem so offended by it. Any and all education on cancer is important... why frown on any way to get the message iut

Peregrinelady

My father passed within 6 weeks of his pancreatic diagnosis. Devastating. I have a colonoscopy every 5 years. I also am awaiting biopsy results on a skin growth on my stomach. Dermatologist said that it could be squamous cell, but of course my mind goes to skin mets. Ugh.

Lita57

Do your research on Susan B Komen....and follow the money.

I will say no more.

Only cancer group I would give $ to now is "Metavivor" which takes no profits and all $ goes to Metastatic BC Research.

They use a different color than pink - - I forgot what it is. MUST BE MY BRAIN METS.

L

SheliaMarie

Being a supporter of pink/October/survivor does not mean I support Susan b komen. I’m not ignorant of that. But because I’m proud to be a daily survivor and I proudly wear my pink I find it offensive that so many bash it. Sorry. It must be the pain I’m in from my bone mets.

DancingElizabeth

My sister’s FIL passed away from pancreatic cancer - a few years ago. He was such a sweet man. I remember it seems like one minute he was diagnosed, then next, he was gone.

Her DH, lives in FEAR of getting this...

And, yeah, about the pink. Lately, it doesn’t bother me that much. It’s well-meaning. I’m one of the ones who skipped the mammos and kept thinking my lump was a cyst! How dumb is that!!!

DancingElizabeth

SheilaMarie - Agree! find myself feeling more this way, these days. And, I thought I was the only person who got BC, that feels this way. That being said, plan to wear a pink shirt today!!

SheliaMarie

DancingElizabeth, it sure feels good to know I’m not alone!!! I think I’ll wear pink today, too... xox

WC3

I see both sides. Breast cancer awareness month raises awareness for a very common cancer that can be caught at home, and raising awareness and making it something no longer taboo to talk about probably has saved lives, not just because women themselves have become more mindful of it but researchers have.

But like all large awarwness campaigns, there is also a lotvof exploitation and hot air. Companies can mislead consumers by pink ribbon packaging their products while not actually donating to breast cancer research or to charities that help those with breast cancer, and a lot of people wear pink ribbons or bracelets but outside of visibility and perpetuating awareness, that doesn't translate into much of substance for those with breast cancer or survivors of breast cancer, and the campaigns fail to really educate about breast cancer beyond a topical awareness.

In a better world, where pinktober was more effective, teenaged girls and young women would not be brushed off when they approach medical providers with concerns, men would know that they can also get breast cancer, and to give themselves a check every so often, radiologists wouldn't shrug off mammograms of dense breasts or invisible palpable breast lumps as normal, and biopsies and MRIs would be discussed and offered more often.

If services for those with breast and other cancers or similar disruptive illnesses were a little better, it would be standard to meet with a social worker who would inform patients of resources available to them and help them obtain those resources, and there would be more emphasis on support and counseling for husbands of spouses with serious illnesses.

Artista964

Pulled in my apt parking to see a guy putting on a pink frame on his plate. Made me want to hurl.

Who isn't aware?? Pisses me off that with all the different cancers out there only bc gets a month of up and center crap. Can we say unfair? Is it really because breasts are valued for nursing, sex and self esteem?? Was that guy putting on that frame rallying to save boobs and not really cancer itself? Hmmmm

WC3

There are awareness months for various cancers.

Lung cancer is the most prevalent cancer and breast cancer is the second most prevalent cancer.

Lung cancer awareness month is in November.

I would like to give you an altruistic reason that breast cancer awareness is a bigger event than lung cancer awareness but the breast cancer awareness campaign just had a lot more money behind it.

Artista964

unlike bc, there is nothing for lung cancer. Had no idea nov is lung. Just sad and so unfair to those other people with different cancers. Also, I'm pretty sure nov is supposed to be for pancreatic but who knows because the only thing thrown in our face is pink!

Maire67

When I think of the amount of money being made by producers of pink junk I get angry. I think that the nfl’s pink shoes to be worn for 1 month is a waste of money that would be better donated to research. I think the whole world is “aware”. What we need is more research, money to help people with cruddy insurance...hey how about going after pharm.... charging $20000 a month for Ibrance. I know they have to make money...I just don’t like being the token survivor people point to....what about those who don’t make it. They are my heroes. Sorry but pinktober still makes me angry after 14 years. My weakness. I don’t want to offend anyone. Just my feelings.

Maire.

WC3

November is also pancreatic cancer awareness month.

Breast cancer gets the most funding but lung cancer gets a good amount of funding as well.

I think people automatically associate lung cancer with smoking though. About 60% of lung cancers are due to smoking. Also, it's another one of those cancers that evidence of can't be checked for at home and often isn't found until symptoms develop.

Artista964

which is why the lung cancer myth needs to be busted. My grandma never smoked. There are early on symptoms but even docs are stupid. She had a cough that wouldn't go away. Was given various cough meds. No check on possible cancer since she was healthy and never smoked. It would serve the public well to blow up nov with whatever color it is and teach folks the truth. After 6 mo of cold meds not working as docs kept pushing them, she was finally dxd stage 4! No tx now. Too late. If caught at the first sign then she stood a chance!

AliceBastable

Yes, the cancers that don't present symptoms or have routine screenings really need more awareness, and definitely need more research into developing tests that would show early stage or even pre-cancerous problems. Apparently my kidney cancer had been growing for years, possibly ten, and it was only caught by accident, while having a chest CT scan prior to my lumpectomy. Because of the size, I may have to do chemo -- it's borderline at 7 cm so nothing has been decided yet. I would love for a test to have existed to find it earlier, so I could have had it removed without taking the whole kidney. And I'm still "lucky" because I can get by with one kidney. People with pancreatic or liver or other cancers don't have that luxury. So I would much prefer a cancer awareness, research, prevention, screening, and treatment campaign that addresses ALL cancers because you never know which one will bite you.

Meow13

I am for drumming up money for better treatments. People are dying from this disease obviously there is so much more to be done.

lovepugs77

I, too, would like to see the money raised go to research instead of "awareness". One of my big problems with Pinktober is that I just hate being reminded of breast cancer everywhere I go...it's all over Facebook right now, stores are full of pink promo items, and it feels like I just can't get away from it. I spend more than enough time thinking about BC. When I'm out grocery shopping (or whatever) I enjoy having my mind occupied by something else for a while.

WC3

If the person has developed a chronic cough, and it's unusual and worsening, then it should be further investigated.

The challenge health care providers face is that coughs are extremely common and rarely lung cancer and the incident of cancer from CTs would quickly exceed that of lung cancer if they were routinely used every time someone had a lingering cough.

MRIs are rarely used as a diagnostic tool for potential lung cancer because the aspect of movement due to breathing can produce difficult to read images and, unlike breast cancer, where palpable lumps can often be biopsied without being imaged, and the biopdies aren't extremely invasive, to do a biopsy of a lung nodule, it has to be imaged, and is very invasive.

kathindc

I'm against the "pinking" of October on several levels.

1) Self magazine and Estee Lauder highjacked the original peach ribbon when the creator, Charlotte Haley, would not let them use her ribbon. She felt it would make it too commercialized. She was spot on with that.

2) There are companies that produce pink products that give little to no profit from their sales towards research or toward helping the patient with treatment, transportation, bills, food, etc.

3) We would have to be living in a cave for our entire lives to not be aware of breast cancer in this day and age. Granted it is different for women in third world countries or who live in repressed societies where they have no voice. So lets put this awareness money toward those items listed in No. 2 above.

4) Wouldn't it have been nice if the NFL for all these years when they pinked out the stadiums and players with pink had just donated that money? But gee, they used this month to find another way to sell merchandise. Granted a small amount of the profit from sales went toward research BUT....

5) Where do we see major mention of breast cancer in men like we do for women? Check out the BCO thread Pinktober Revolution. On page 104, you will see a much more realistic ribbon of what the breast cancer ribbon should look like. It was posted by Traveltext, who is a survivor and is active in making it known that men get breast cancer.

6) I have no problem with people liking pink and wearing it in October but the party atmosphere that can surround the month does a great injustice to those who are in the throws of diagnosis and treatment.

Just my two cents worth.

SheliaMarie

All valid points. My point however was that pinktober is not meant to invalidate other cancers. Although many corporations take advantage, most people have the best of intentions when buying, using and sharing the pink stuff. It has its place. I'm sorry for the other cancers for not getting the same recognition, that's sad and hopefully someone, somewhere will figure a way to increase that recognition, but that shouldn't lead to the bashing that I see.

Artista964

Boils down to each their own. The only place 100% money goes to research is metavivor.org. everyone else is profiting to some degree.