Take the Fright Out of Breast Cancer™

Outfield

I counted 22 individual posters on the first page of this thread alone. Not sure where the 13 came from - I am myself absent from the boards for very long times - but right now you've got people commenting who saw this and felt strongly enough about it to respond. I don't think, given my experiences on this site, that there are hundreds of members too scared to support you by posting in favor of this campaign. If they were there and they cared, they'd be posting.

Shetland, that was spot-on.

Mods, just do it. Just imagine you are doing this to raise money for soldiers or flood victims. It's very easy to see how offensive it is if you can substitute in those words.

ABeautifulSunset

How much do you expect to raise? Maybe we can fundraiser ourselves andpay you to pull the campaign.

PoseyGirl

Hi Mods,

There have been so many excellent responses here, so I'm just piping in to raise my hand in agreement.

Your objectives are salient; I personally think it's reasonable for you to keep evolving your site; it's your mandate. But Your marketing/branding is offensive. That is not an attack; that is just fact. And no amount of talking or navel gazing can rebut this fact. Blue is blue.

The war veteran allusion is perfect. The suggestion that no amount of tweaking short of a complete about face can make this campaign feel correct is true. The idea of scaring breast cancer or taking the fright out of cancer are so far beyond silly that I'm surprised you are continuing to defend; it's understandable that you have some wheels in motion, but it's not difficult to make changes to this moving forward. Companies much bigger than yours with billions to lose withdraw campaigns every day.

I hold you to a higher bar out there. I expect an occasional club or small company to slip up with theme once in awhile. Can you envision Dana Farber or Susan Komen rolling this out? I thought so.

CIBC has introduced a simple but powerful approach with their fundraising - "I promise to get rid of cancer" (paraphrased). I don't love the pink, but it's a recognized brand so they should use it. The copy was 100 percent on and it just hit me in such a powerfully good way. It is showing the commitment to end this shit. They understand we the patients and understand what is needed. I will take this pledge and donate to them for it. bCO may not have the imperative to find the cure, so your branding shouldn't replicate this. But your campaign should not reverse progress nor insult legions of people. It should powerfully reflect what you are about and lead to a resounding "yes" from 90 percent of your stakeholders (at least).

I'm not here to latch onto a fight like a dog on a bone; I literally can't sit and watch you make a fool out of your reputable organization

marijen

They are making fools of all women. Haven't they thought of the women and girls in their own families? And men too, sorry guys.

Tennis Event in New Jersey

https://www.vinelandchamber.org/events/details/hal...

Freya244117

Besides the obvious cure, what I want most is for BC to be treated seriously. Do we see any silly, trivialised, sexualised, cutesy fundraisers for heart disease, diabetes or strokes? I'm dying for FFS, it's not a joke.

This disease affects adult women and some men, not 5 year olds. Stop treating us like children, it is condescending.

Anonymous

Among other things, climbing on the helloween bandwagon is nothing less than shameful opportunism. I cannot understand why you've pulled this one out of the hat Moderators. How is it you fail to see peoples fear of this dreadful disease as justifiable? and why have you lumped it in a one size fits all box. This is just awful. We all face this fear to differing degrees - not only between ourselves but within ourselves AND depending on what we're facing at the time. It's a totally fluid situation. Get the cure then start talking about fear and cautiously at that.

Since you mention that this is to do with site improvement, unless I see an itemized breakdown of expenses I remain skeptical about this hard push for more and more campaigning. You said it is going to be expensive. We need a detailed list of exactly what the expenses are. I am also EXTREMELY skeptical about what these "improvements" are going to mean in a privacy context, meaning the whole previous discussion on privacy has been quietly thrown under the bus because this hasn't been addressed.

Earlier this year I found requests going out to cloudfront. Now BCO doesn't function the same unless I allow a cross site request to cloudfront. That means every time I come here cloudfront knows about it UNLESS I block that request. This fly under the radar stuff little by little erodes more of our privacy and most people are unaware they end up being a commodity sold to the highest bidder in this whole insidious process. So whats coming down the pike for visitors now? a cookie wall? paywall? With what I had in place, BCO was doing just fine before.

glennie19

Well-said, Shetland Pony! Excellent analogy!

Meow13

Well it certainly clear to me something has to change, saying survivors were consulted on the campaign doesn't cut it. This will come back to bite you, and unfortunately all of us will pay the price.

Moderators

We respect all voices, positive and negative. We understand that some of you have strong opinions and feelings about the campaign and your feedback is helping us evolve the campaign messaging to be as supportive and inclusive as possible.

Over the next few days you will see some changes that reflect the thoughts and feelings you have shared so openly. You will continue to see changes over the next weeks.

We hope that we can work together on this, gain insights from you, and together make this a successful fundraising and education campaign for all.

Thank you.

Traveltext

Here's an example of a Halloween cancer fundraising event which is set apart from the traditional community event, and which doesn't involve kids.

http://www.rarecancers.org.au/events/22/2017-sick-...

sbelizabeth

"Let's put the AMP in our amputees!"

It's a fundraiser, of course. No one could possibly object.

marijen

Traveltext what a difference between class and schlock

ShetlandPony

Thank you for your reply and for considering our feedback, BCO and Mods.

PoseyGirl

Yes, much appreciated. I really believe a shift is not just to "appease" us, but really better for an impactful campaign.

Traveltext

How about a campaign that exclusively raises funds for Stage IV research?

ShetlandPony

Definitely, some positive changes will make for a better campaign.

nihahi

I don't understand why bco can't build fundraising campaigns on the truth, instead of trying to "party-up" the info and the reality of BC.

Lung cancer doesn't hold parties with people dressed as cigarettes...they show photos of lung cancer on cigarette packages, and pictures of lungs diseased by cancer.

Kidney cancer shows jaundiced people on dialysis, not people at a party.

MADD shows interviews with people who have lost loved ones to drunk drivers.

Childhood leukemia shows children in hospitals, enduring chemo.

The list is endless...except for breast cancer. Which insists on pinking up, partying hard, saving the tata's, it's not so bad, just get a mammo...

Why not show and talk about the lymphedema, the mastectomy scars, the neuropathy and arthritic changes, the financial impact to families, the horror of metastatic bc?

Why doesn't bco get that trivializing, and PROMOTING the insensitivity and false "don't worry, be pink and have a good time" of breast cancer is wrong?

There are pages that span YEARS on the discussion boards, of people trying to regain their lives after surgery and chemo. Trying to get families, friends and employers to understand that everything is NOT fine, the day after your last chemo. That their job security is gone, their personal relationships have been ruptured, their children/spouses are traumatized. The struggle to heal emotionally as well as physically. That chemo for some is a life long treatment. There is so much bco COULD say, instead of the yearly pink party.

marijen

Stage IV

Should be spelled out. How many know what it means? What difference does 7% low number matter if they don't know what Metastatic Breast Cancer is? And that it is the last Stage before death. When people think Breast Cancer, they think Breast. That has to change.

Metastatic Breast Cancer

What Is Metastatic Breast Cancer?

Metastatic breast cancer is also classified as Stage 4 breast cancer. The cancer has spread to other parts of the body. This usually includes the lungs, liver, bones or brain.

How does cancer spread, or metastasize?

The spread of cancer usually happens through one or more of the following steps:

• Cancer cells invade nearby healthy cells. When the healthy cell is taken over, it too can replicate more abnormal cells.
• Cancer cells penetrate into the circulatory or lymph system. Cancer cells travel through the walls of nearby lymph vessels or blood vessels.
• Migration through circulation. Cancer cells are carried by the lymph system and the bloodstream to other parts of the body.
• Cancer cells lodge in capillaries. Cancer cells stop moving as they are lodged in capillaries at a distant location and divide and migrate into the surrounding tissue.
• New small tumors grow. Cancer cells form small tumors at the new location (called micrometastases.)

And/or an Image (compliments of National Breast Cancer)

Outfield

sbelizabeth, you have captured it in one image.

Traveltext

Here's another image that capture's it.

Spookiesmom

in this months Readers Digest. Seems a reasonable way to get their message out. Not wrecking a fun time for kids, but instead helping people to understand.

Hopeful82014

I am one of those who responded to the invitation to preview and provide feedback on the proposed new campaign some months ago. I know that my responses were negative and that I indicated I found the plans distasteful. Had I known that I was one of only 13 responding I probably would have been more emphatic and outspoken. Unfortunately, there was no way to save either the survey or my responses although I would like to be able to review them to see how well the questions reflect the end product.

1) I am dismayed that the moderators seem to feel that a sample of 13 (!) was sufficient.

2) Given the many, many posts going back for years decrying "Pinktober" etc., it's astonishing that a new campaign based on Hallowe'en was even under consideration. It certainly seems tone-deaf to me. It also indicates that they were willing to spend funds on that survey without doing basic research within their boards to get a sense of whether it might be appropriate. I don't see that as a very wise use of resources.

3) I strongly suggest that the mods. publish a copy of that survey for the general membership of this board OR provide an opportunity for members to receive a copy by email so that they can see for themselves what was being sampled. I, personally, would very much like to see a copy of the results.

I've pretty much quit visiting BCO out of disgust with this issue. The fact that BCO could even think that their campaign would be appropriate staggers me.

Sara536

re: the reference to anti-cigarette campaigns.....We need to find a reasonable middle ground here. I wouldn't mind at all if there were a black-box warning on sugary drinks and candy bars and other non-essential foods that could fuel or cause cancer, but I wouldn't want them to include pictures of diseased breasts or mastectomy scars. Gotta find a way to talk about it without making it cute but but wouldn't want to make people afraid to go public that they have breast cancer either. I'm still underground because I don't want anyone trying to imagine what my scars look like or how much of my breasts are real. (let alone asking me those questions straight out). Since I'm retired I was able to go through this privately but I realize also that I may have missed out on some sources of social support.

-Just trying to throw a monkey wrench into the conversation. A lot of the pink stuff we find so objectionable may be an attempt to say, "See, we're still cute and feminine as well as mad as hell. How to find the best way to educate without scaring the sh*t out of the kids or being overly cute?

marijen

Thanks Sara, that hadn't occurred to me that there would be deformed breast photos? I did see a website that showed all that, it was awful. I don't know how that is allowed? Can't remember where at the moment, didn't stay but a few secs.

Freya244117

A lot of the pink stuff we find so objectionable may be an attempt to say, "See, we're still cute and feminine as well as mad as hell.

IT IS CANCER, IT IS NOT A F*^&ING BEAUTY PAGEANT!!!

IT IS KILLING ME, THERE IS NOTHING CUTE OR FEMININE ABOUT THAT.

Mind you nothing would surprise me anymore, what a great idea for a fundraiser, Ms BC and Ms MBC competition, instead of Halloween parties. Only open to those who have had a recon, their hair has grown back, and with no visible scars in their bikini's. After all we don't want to scare anyone with the truth of what breast cancer can really be like.

What other disease are women still expected to be cute and feminine while fighting for their lives?

nihahi

Cute and feminine are concepts that do not define me as a woman. They have no relevance to my skills, education, interests, life experiences or life challenges. Those are the type of cutesy, degrading terms that drives these misconceptions about women and these offensive campaigns.

I'm sure you didn't mean to be...but I find that mindset truly demeaning.

marijen

I don't think that's what Sara meant. She said the pink stuff (and pinktober) is objectionable. I think she's referring to the people that started the pink stuff or the ones that perpetuate it as wanting to be cute and feminine

nihahi

I disagree.

Freya244117

I disagree too.

It seems like the horse has bolted on pink halloween.

Sara536

Did I say we should be cute and pink and feminine? No, absolutely not. I said that maybe that was the origin of the pink stuff. I believe we need to analyze where it came from. Did the originators think that would be the best way to get attention at the time? Maybe it was. We know it turns a lot of us off. We also know that a lot of people see no problem with it. I would guess that even the people who are pushing pink would never think that that is what defines them. They are just so used to it that they are numb to its implications. We can see that some people who were all rah-rah for pink are beginning to see that it is terribly outdated. If it can be said that there are two "camps" digging in, no change will happen unless we first understand the history. It is very hard to convince anyone of anything if an attempt is not made to understand where they are coming from. The pink approach has worked for fundraising for quite awhile. That doesn't justify keeping it. We need to find a new approach. We also need to get political. We need tons of government funding, not sabotage of the programs we currently have. We need good healthcare for everyone, not destruction of the programs we depend on. As a country we can certainly afford it. We need to get our priorities right and our act together.

PS: I think you misinterpreted my "mind set."

Thanks, marijen