Pink: Not just for Pepto Bismol anymore

surthrivers... I love it.

At Safeway today, enjoying the freezer aisle during my hotflash, I spotted a pink, for the cure, box of ice cream.  Breyers Double Churned Vanilla & Strawberry.

I'm digging "sur-thrivers" too, though it took me a minute to figure it out (blasted chemobrain!)

Here's my new philosophy -

1. I will come here and laugh until my sides split about the crazy stupid pink stuff. I think it's OK for us to make fun of it, because we're "in the club", kind of like how you can make fun of your crazy aunt, but nobody else can.

2. I will attempt to ignore the pink explosion to the extent that I can. When faced with it, I will not let it make me mad.

3. I will continue to educate friends and family that are interested, to "think before they pink", and I will continue to applaud comments from my sweet little boy such as, "all that licking the lids is gross, why don't they just donate money if that's what they want to do?"

4. I will allow myself to be sentimental about certain "personal pink" things that are meaningful to me. If I knew how to post pictures, I would post the one of my son and his best friend with pink bands on their braces, and huge smiles on their faces.

***Yes, we get to pick and choose which pink we are OK with and which pink annoys us. We also get to hate it all one day and be OK with some of it another day. So there! (foot stomp)

5. I will always rely on my sisters here, who have been there and done that, and are stronger and smarter and braver and funnier and classier than any other group of women I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, when I just can't take it and want to scream (or vomit pink!)

Love this thread!

The NASCAR approach sounds a lot like something that Wrangler and the National Finals Rodeo does each year at their event in Las Vegas, called "Tough Enough To Wear Pink." Here's a link about it:

 http://www.toughenoughtowearpink.com/press/121005_press_release.html

Our family makes the NFR a mini-reunion each year, and my husband has already bought a pink Western shirt for this year's event.  I just read that in 2006 Wrangler donated $1 million to the Tough Enough To Wear Pink Foundation on behalf of several corporations involved in the Western industry and the NFR, and that foundation is also carrying the message and fundraising efforts to other rodeos around the country.   

It's heartwarming to see support when it's done with class.           Deanna

I went to Bed Bath and Beyond yesterday and pink kitchen accessories were prominently displayed near the entrance.  As I groaned under my breath, I continued on my quest, which was some glass containers.  I've decided to try some farm fresh milk this week and I want to store it in glass containers.  All they had was quart-sized containers.  Everything else is plastic. 

And what is with this silicone bakeware???  Does anyone actually buy it?  It sends a chill up my spine when I merely touch it for half a second.  Of course, it's available in pink....  

OK, I am fuming.  Here is my nominee for BC rip off of the day.

I needed paper towels and bought Viva towels as they were on sale.  Of course, on the package is a pink rectangle that proclaims that "VIVA is proud to support The Breast Cancer Research Foundation."  In tiny print it says "See side panel for details."  The side panel in tiny, tiny print proclaims that $125,000 to $200,00 will be donated.  If you want more details you need to go to their website.

So I check their website.  The amount donated from the package I bought?  Nothing!!  Nada!!! Zip!!

You needed to buy the special paper towels with pink ribbons all over them (which my store did not have) or pay $5 to join something called the Diva Cafe!!

Can we say Yoplait, you have a match in deceptive marketing ploys.

 http://www.vivadivacafe.vivatowels.com/VivaDivaHappenings/BCRF/Default.aspx

I posted this on the mets board but just read this~ maybe someone can help me find a really useful donation.

Hi All,

  I have just come home from GAMMA KNIFE SURGERY for brain mets.  It is one tumor and they hope that the GAMMA (really radiation to tumor only) will shrink the 2 cm tumor.  I am thinking of my obit (sorry to be so gloomy) but I want to know where donations can go to HELP everyone who could use some money.  I hate this October awareness month!  I don't want anyone to buy a pink blender or vaccum and hope that SOME of the proceeds go for something good.  I think we are all aware of BC by now.  I want to ask for donation money to help people pay for homes, heat, medical bills if they don't have insurance or with co-pays and deductibles even if they do have insurance.  Does anyone know if the ACS really gives away any money to help?

(((((Egal))))),

I pray that your obit will not be needed for many, many years.  I went to the ACS web site and found the following about their patient support services:

Patient Services
Patient services of the American Cancer Society provide a wide range of emotional and practical support for patients, their families, their caregivers, and their communities from the time of diagnosis to the end of the cancer experience:

Reach to Recovery: Trained volunteers offer information and support to patients before, during, and after breast cancer treatment.

"tlc"^TM is a "magalog" (magazine/catalog) that combines helpful articles and information with products for women coping with cancer treatment. "tlc", or Tender Loving Care^® , offers wigs, mastectomy forms and products, and a large selection of hats and headcoverings. There are articles about living with cancer, common questions with answers, and profiles on real women fighting the disease. The "tlc" Web site, www.tlcdirect.org, was launched to give a more simple and interactive shopping experience for patients.

Look Good...Feel Better^®: The Look Good...Feel Better program is a free community-based national service that teaches female cancer patients beauty techniques to help restore their appearance and self-image during chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Man to Man^®: Man to Man helps men cope with prostate cancer by providing community-based education and support to patients and their family members. Participants learn about prostate cancer, treatment, side effects, and how to cope with the disease and its treatment.

Children's Camps: In many areas, the Society sponsors camps for children who have, or have had, cancer. These camps, staffed by pediatric oncologists and nurses, are also equipped to handle the special needs of children currently undergoing treatment. This summer camp experience provides a place for these young patients to become kids again.

Hope Lodge^®: Getting the right care sometimes means cancer patients must travel away from home, often to a cancer treatment facility in another city. The American Cancer Society is trying to make this difficult situation easier with the 21 currently available Hope Lodges. Hope Lodge provides housing free of charge for patients undergoing outpatient treatment in a supportive and caring environment. Accommodations and eligibility requirements may vary by location.

I Can Cope^®: I Can Cope is an educational program for people facing cancer, either personally or as a caregiver. The program offers reliable information, peer support, and practical coping skills.

I know there's another program that they have, Road to Recovery, and I'm going to a training session to learn more about that.  The volunteers provide transportation to patients who need help to get to their medical appointments.

Hugs,

Karen 

Our capitol building here in Lincoln, Nebraska has a very tall central tower and I know one year during all of October it was lit with pink lights.  I'll have to see if they are doing it this year.

Amy

Here's a good October 2008 article about the importance of healthy skepticism when a consumer is considering "buying pink."  I've quoted part of the article; the whole thing can be found here:  http://www.centredaily.com/entertainment/story/888273.html 

+++++++++++++ 

"No one knows how many pink products are out there because there is no central clearinghouse that keeps track.

Likewise, no one keeps track of the total amount raised; so many products benefit so many different charities.

But Komen, the world's largest breast cancer group, received about $58 million last year from sponsorship deals and cause-related marketing. That's when a company or brand links itself to a specific cause, in this case, breast cancer, according to Caroline Wall, a spokeswoman for Dallas-based Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

In 1996, cause-related marketing and corporate sponsorships accounted for just $8 million, Wall says.

For many shoppers, buying pink products is a natural.

"They're not asking anyone to do anything extraordinary, not asking anyone to do anything other than make a purchase," Ed Nakfoor, a Birmingham, Mich.-based retail consultant, says of companies that sell pink products.

"So if someone is going to buy a box of M&Ms and they have a choice between a regular box of M&Ms and the pink box, they'll buy the pink box. It doesn't taste different ... but they can feel they're doing some good. It's an easy way for people to feel like they're making a difference."

Plus, women are responsible for making most household purchases - and are likely to have a natural empathy for and fear of breast cancer, which strikes women more than men, says Britt Beemer, founder of America's Research Group, a Charleston, S.C.-based consumer research firm.

Yet at the same time, women are becoming skeptical of pink products, according to a survey done earlier this year by the research group.

Four years ago, roughly 40 percent of the women surveyed said they make an effort to buy pink ribbon products.

In May, only 28 percent of the women surveyed said the same thing.

"They really question how much money breast cancer is getting. Other women who donate to breast cancer say, 'I'd rather give $25 or $50 where I know that's going rather than buying something where I don't know how much is going where,'" Beemer says.

"Some of the bloom is off the pink rose."

Genevieve Howe, 50, lost her mother to breast cancer 12 years ago and says consumers need to look at pink products with a critical eye.

As a member of Breast Cancer Action, a San Francisco-based group, she is an advocate for the organization's Think Before You Pink Campaign (thinkbeforeyoupink.org), which urges more transparency and accountability by companies taking part in breast cancer fund-raising. It also urges consumers to question promotions.

"They talk about spending money on breast cancer, there's so many different things that can mean. ... Are they looking into treatments? Are they looking into radiation or chemotherapy or surgery? What kind of research is funded? ... I want to challenge these companies and I want them to do the right thing, but I also want consumers to think critically," Howe said.

...Both Komen and Think Before You Pink encourage shoppers to be savvy.

Do research; go online or call a company directly. You can usually find phone numbers and Web site addresses on the product."

+++++++++++

otter 

FYI:

 National Pet Peeve Week

that drive them crazy throughout the year! 

AND, how about those not so little annoying things??? 

Thanks for helping to you all~

  I WILL find the right donations so the the money will help people who need it...with all your help.

 You are all the best~

A pink envelope appeared in my mailbox today ... from my home insurance company. There are two sheets of paper inside the envelope

1) October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month -  and National Mammography Day is October 17th - at the bottom of the letter is a couple of paragraphs talking about cancer insurance policies  (this page is white with a pink ribbon as the background)

2) A double-sided page on screening  w/ Q's and A's - material copyrighted by AstraZeneca 

Now we've even got Insurance companies capitalizing on pink october  - geesh.... 

Egal, contact your local Habitat for Humanity. They will get you pointed in the right direction for donations like you mentioned yesterday.

What about breastcancer.org?  This site has been a life saver for me so far.  I just can't believe that with all you have been through, and are still going through, that you are still thinking about how you can give and what you can do to help others.