help me explain not embracing the pink

I have a different perspective. I sell the type of branded promotional products that are sold/given away. Not anything bc related, but other things. So I am very familiar with this type of marketing. That being said, when I was diagnosed, the doctor came out with a big pink tote bag filled with ecucational materials. I was HORRIFIED. It was so totally inyourface. I was like "Hell no, I will NEVER carry that tote bag anywhere EVER!" I brought it home and buried it in a closet. I think oftentimes those purchasing these products do not have a real sense of what being a cancer patient is like. For instance, at the entrance to my cancer center, they sold memorial bricks which are in the sidewalk you walk on to the front door. They have names and birth/death years of people who (presumably) died from cancer. So when you walk in the front door, you are WALKING over the names of people who died of cancer.  It is AWFUL. I spoke to some women in a support group there and EVERY SINGLE OF of them felt the same way. But whoever planned and approved that project didn't consider the feelings of the patients.

So as cancer warriors, we see things differently, first hand, being in the battle.  I was given some pink awareness bracelets when I was first dx.  I would NEVER wear one - I don't need a reminder of what I'm going through. However, friends & family members took them and wear them in my honor and say that when they see the bracelet on their wrist, it reminds them to send love & support my way, and that means a lot to me. So it is different for different people.

I was given a "Hey Cancer - You Picked the Wrong Broad" shirt, which I love, but i wear it to work out in or around the house, not in public. But I don't wear slogan shirts anyway.

I think there is a way to be subtle and encouraging and not overt about the message, and that is how I direct my clients. But some people choose to cope in a very overt way. We're all different.

For me, no pink clothes please! But I understand others who love them.

(Well I think if I run the survivors race I am training for in October, I might wear something identifying to that. But that's one time I want to show what I've been through, as I run along!)

I feel the same way. I cannot stand all the pink ribbon stuff:  t-shirts, bags, promotions, etc. I just feel like they are trivializing our experience, making it into something they can market. I don't want to feel part of this pink-wearing group. I don't want to BE in this group! Cancer makes me angry, not happy!

There is actually a wonderful campaign by Breast Cancer Action called "think before you pink"to help people realize what they are giving to (or not giving to) when they donate to "pink" causes. http://www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org/Pages/AboutTheCampaign.html 

I don't hate the pink..I just don't wear it. I do have a breast cancer jibbitz in my greay crocs, and a lime green cap with a a pink ribbon on it with "Traci's Hope", a local organization that I have donated to and are now helping me financially a bit. I have other things that have been given to me, but I do not use them.

The pink is ok for eveyone else out there, but not all proceeds for these pink products goes to breast cancer org 100%. If someone wants to buy you somrthing pink, tell them to give a donation directly to American Cancer Association or Breast cancer Org.Who needs all those chachees.

When I told my family I said quite clearly I DON'T do pink, I am NOT a survivor or a victim! Since then, of course, I've walked the Survivor Lap in the Relay for Life.... (cried the whole way, but it wasn't just about breast cancer at least; our shirts were yellow)

barbe1958: ha ha, but I don't want the pink in my house any longer! LOL

Did y'all know that it was a Canadian the started the pink ribbon thing?

That whole pink ribbon thing is a very profitable racket. Make money by promoting pink crap for BC "awareness". I'm not carrying their message.

If 1 out of 4 or so women get BC, I think EVERYONE is probably aware of it by now! What do they mean by "awareness" anyway?

I think selling pink blenders, note pads, ribbons, jewelry, gardening tools, yogurt tops, tennis shoes, cars, and marches, runs, races, and marathons of all kinds to find a cure is not what is good for the actual 1 out of 4 who end up with BC. Some research "foundation" will get a very small % of the NET profit from these things. Meanwhile, big pharma finds the very profitable treatments, but not a cure.

WE want to know what CAUSES all cancers, not what tortures you can invent to keep us all as patients. If the yogurt company actually cared about cancer, would they still use that high fructose corn syrup? Scientists use that to give mice diabetes so they can find cures for that! It's also been associated with various cancers.

Something is amiss. Prevention is always better than a cure, except for those making the big bucks.

UPDATE, I'm still amongst the living and still hate the pink stink of breast cancer.

On Sun, Nov 29, 2015 at 1:16 AM, Sari & Denis Swick <SwicksPDX@comcast.net> wrote:

"Pink Ribbons Inc."

Runtime: 1h 38m | Release date: 2012

Pink ribbons ... they're everywhere: tee-shirts, hats, yoghurt cups, KFC buckets, car ads, NFL stadiums ...the list goes on and on. They make us feel good, as if we're all engaged in a successful battle against breast cancer.

But who is really benefiting? After all, more and more women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. Maybe it's the companies who wrap their products in pink to gain our admiration (and money) ...and wouldn't it be something if some of the very companies that profit from their pink marketing campaigns have actually contributed to the breast cancer epidemic by selling known carcinogens?

Pink Ribbons, Inc. fearlessly goes inside the story to reveal those who have co-opted what marketing experts have labeled a 'dream cause'

I just saw this film, got it from Netflix.

It's also view able free on this site http://walrusvideo.com/pink-ribbons-inc/

When I was diagnosed with breast cancer I told everyone "No Pink" ribbons, teddy bears, or other crap. I'm sick, not a 2 year old and that's all just a gimmick to make others rich with this touchy-feely stuff.

Susan G Komen doesn't support finding any type of CAUSES, just one or more (profitable) cures. And this "survivor" title makes it sound like we were heroic victims, struggling and somehow surviving. I had an all too common, disease most likely caused by toxins in an environment that I assumed was safe, just like my grandmother 50 years before me. I took poisons for many years afterwards and had 2 major surgeries to eradicate my tumor. They didn't have mammograms in the 1950's, so my grandmother was killed by her belatedly diagnosed disease.

All of the fuzzy warm pink stuff just distracts from the real problem which is why and how do we get this damned cancer to begin with.

There is not profit in prevention. There's not much profit in a cure either. They need on-going treatments like they have for diabetes, high cholesterol, and various cancers now. The money in the refills!

I am so glad to hear that I'm not the only one.  I have never liked pink because it was too girly.  Also, I have never liked calling attention to myself.  Now people keep urging pink everything on me, like it is an obligatory part of breast cancer treatment.  I am pretty sure that pink accessories won't aid my own recovery; I know that I can't stand the sight of many of them; and I can think of many better ways to help others who are going through breast cancer.  Thanks all of you for confirming what I've been thinking and feeling.

Pink!  I have a pale pink workout shirt and every time I wear it, I get compliments -- "That's your colour, you should wear it more often!".

Well, they're right, it IS a good colour for me, but it always reminds me of bc -- ugh!

I dislike the pink stuff too.  When friends and coworkers give me things I thank them politely and put them away.  The only thing loved was that my 22 year old daughter put on a pink band when I was first diagnosed and I cried when she came home from college with it on.

Ellen

I was considering getting a new license plate for my car--Colorado has a pink one that says "committed to a cure" or some such. I was on the fence, because I generally don't advertise my bc--not that this plate singles me out--but when I realized that ALL the money from the plate goes to the DMV, I just said hell no. Now, starting in October this year, an additional $25 fee will be tacked on to that plate--and that fee will go to support Women's Wellness Connection, which helps pay for mammos and cancer treatment for the state's uninsured and under-insured women.

Now that's a fee I can support. But I don't know that I want the tag...

Pink is a good color for me, esp hot pink. But I loathe the ribbon thing due to the marketing ploys. It may give awareness for others, but I think it also misguides them. Cancer is not a pretty pink ribbon. Till we know a cause, we can't know a cure. If people see this ribbon as a symbol of hope and strength, that's wonderful. Me? I see it as a distasteful reminder of breast cancer and the profit made off our suffering.

Anne