I Happen to Like Pink Month

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  • IllinoisNancy
    IllinoisNancy Member Posts: 722
    edited November 2008

    Hi IV, we both have supportive husbands and are very lucky.

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  • IllinoisNancy
    IllinoisNancy Member Posts: 722
    edited October 2008

    Hi IV, we both have supportive husbands and are very lucky.

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  • irishdreama
    irishdreama Member Posts: 938
    edited October 2008

    I have to agree with Iodine. All that money raised is supposedly going to research, which is great, but I've said this before and I'll say it again-for God's sake, use some of that money and HELP some of these women actually trying to work, raise families, etc. during treatment! If I ever won the lottery, I would establish a foundation that would help single mom's trying to work through treatment. All the pink wouldn't be quite so nauseating if we actually saw some positive use of the funds. As far as raising awareness is concerned, I think you'd have to be living in a cave NOT to be aware of Breast cancer nowadays. I don't believe that raising awareness is going to convince women that we're ALL at risk for breast cancer. I know there are lots of people who won't agree with me-this is just my opinion.

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  • murphmort
    murphmort Member Posts: 157
    edited October 2008

    I am a redhead so pink is not a color that I wear!!!  However, being a breast cancer survivor and experiencing my first Awareness Month as a survivor, it has been a pretty emotional month.

    The most positive experience this month was when I walked with my son's high school at the Making Strides Walk in Boston - which is the oldest BC walk in the country!!  Over 100 high school kids participated and raised $3000.   It was truly inspirational.

    One thing we can all do is to sign up at amyofwomen.org.

    This is Dr. Love's website where she expects to find a cure.  I encourage everyone to visit this website and forward the info to others.

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  • crazy4carrots
    crazy4carrots Member Posts: 5,324
    edited October 2008

    Hi murphmort;

    just want to change your webwsite to www.armyofwomen.org

    (one little r makes all the difference!)

    Cheers, Linda

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  • murphmort
    murphmort Member Posts: 157
    edited October 2008

    thanks for the correction, lindasa.  I'll blame it on "rad brain"!!!

    Have a great day.Kiss

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  • JanetT52
    JanetT52 Member Posts: 7
    edited October 2008

    Money mouthI also absolutely LOVE PINK - it was my "color" before 11/19/2003 when I was told I had breast cancer and it will forever be my favorite color - now more than ever.

    I am a succor for anything pink, but if it has to do with breast cancer, then I am an even bigger succor.  Love October and the awareness it brings to other people.  I do donate a lot more in October - through buying things and donating to this website, Komen, etc.  This Friday, I'm going to get a pink hair extension.  The owner of the salon donates the $10.00 charge right to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.  So, I'll be doing double duty - donating and bringing awareness when people ask me about my hair extension.

    LOVE PINK!!!

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  • kdeit
    kdeit Member Posts: 209
    edited October 2009

    I'm resurrecting this discussion because I happen to love Pink Month, too.  I am very involved in the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer (October 31st in DT Orlando) and in our local Relay for Life.  The pink marketing ploys for October do not bother me.  I feel that some money donated is better than no money donated, and that we are capable of reading and deciding if we wish to purchase the product or not.

    I am inserting a photo of a quilt and a tote bag that my team sold "chance drawing tickets" for - we have raised over $500.00 on these two items alone ($3,000.00 in all this year) and we blatantly used pink.  I'm the one on the left:

    I ended up breaking my ankle when we were taking down the exhibit, and I've been in an "air cast" for the past 5 weeks - so, I won't be walking at Strides, but will be there!!  If you're in the Orlando area, please come join us - it's awesome.  Last year there were 200+ survivors and 15,000 walkers!! 

    Hugs,

    Karen

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  • cd1234
    cd1234 Member Posts: 169
    edited October 2009

    I agree that all the pink is overboard, but some people don't know how to tell you that what you are going through scares them and makes them sad, so they buy pink things and wear them. Here are a couple of examples. My brother in law in is a big wig. Great career, great wife, great house blah blah blah. He is not the type of guy who talks about breast cancer to anyone. Not even his older brother, my husband. We were at a Bronco game the other day, and I noticed he was wearing a pink wrist band. It is his way of letting me know he loves me and is scared. The best is my son's football team. They are 7 year old boys. They dedicated their football game to breast cancer awareness last weekend. They all got pink ribbon stickers for their helmets and they wrapped pink duct tape around their shoes, shirts anything that they could get pink duct tape on. Then they had me be the honorary captain of the game. My son was beaming!! A seven year old boy with a bald, boobless mom does not know how to express his emotions. Having his team show this kind of support meant the world to him. I am ok with pink.

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  • bennetts1
    bennetts1 Member Posts: 440
    edited October 2009

    I am a school teacher and my husband is a high school footbal coach.  Next Friday night the football team is having a "Pink Out" football game.  We have sold pink breast cancer awareness t-shirts, the football players are wearing pink armbands and pink shoestrings, the cheerleaders are wearing pink wigs, and all breast cancer survivors will be recognized at the game.  Proceeds from this game will go to our school's Relay for Life team.  My students have really supported me throughout my journey with breast cancer.  I am honored and proud that high school students, both male and female are proud to wear pink t-shirts in support of breast cancer awareness!

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  • kdeit
    kdeit Member Posts: 209
    edited October 2009

    bennetts1 - what a great way to raise funds for Relay - I am Team Captain of a Making Strides Against Breast Cancer team (another ACS fund-raising event) plus on the city Planning ofor Relay.  I love what your school is doing!!  We hold our Relay on the football field at a local HS, and the Honor Students and Key/Keyette Club kids help us out, but we have never had a teacher interested in forming an actual team - we're working on that for this upcoming year. 

    cdean - what a sweetie your little guy is - you must have been so proud of him and his teammates!!   That's the right kind of pink!!

    Tomorrow 3 members of my Making Strides Against Breast Cancer team are setting up an information booth at a local technical school and selling cookies (tied with a pink ribbon, made by the culinary arts students)  for $1.00 donation to the team!!    They plan to bake 500 cookies - Yum!!  I plan to swing by the school and buy some myself.  One of the team members who is manning the booth was 16 when she was diagnosed (now is 20) - she wants to get the word out that it can and does affect younger women.

    (edited to include a reply to cdean)

    Hugs,

    Karen

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  • cookiegal
    cookiegal Member Posts: 3,296
    edited October 2009

    Cdean that is the sweetest story every! And the best argument for it.

    I think if all the pink consisted of true grass roots projects and things that genuinely helped raise more money than would have been raised with out it, we would put up with it. At a fund raising walk, hey go for it.

    But clearly some of the pink products are just that. PInk. And it's hard not to feel exploited.

    I personally find it traumatic to see pink at every corner, it's like I can't put it out of my mind for a moment. Maybe in the future I will feel differently. I try to see it as a sign of support and encouragement. 

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  • otter
    otter Member Posts: 6,099
    edited October 2009

    Okay, I admit that I normally hang out on the "I hate pink" threads, but this one is a good pink.  My state's Department of Motor Vehicles has authorized two different license plates (we call 'em "license tags" here) promoting breast cancer research and diagnosis:

    Here's the one I like. It's not quite so pink, and the profit ($41.25 of the $50 "specialty tag fee" that's paid in addition to the regular registration fee) goes to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama.  What's more, the BCRFA website says they donate that money to fund cancer research at the University of Alabama Comprehensive Cancer Center: 

    Some people will prefer this next one, which is a bit too "pink" for my tastes -- but it's hard to argue with the cause.  The profit from purchase of this license "tag" goes to the "Joy to Life Foundation" to pay for mammograms for "medically underserved" women who are less than 50 years of age (http://www.joytolife.org/).  At this point, the organization is able to fund mammograms in slightly fewer than half the counties of the state; but their plan is to extend coverage to "medically underserved" women statewide.

    The "Joy to Life Foundation" doesn't say how much of the $50 "special tag fee" they get, or how much of their take from the fee actually goes toward paying the costs of mammograms as opposed to "administrative costs." They do note that "100%" of the money raised will stay within the state of Alabama.

    Also, and sadly, there does seem to be some competition between the two "breast cancer" groups.  The "Joy to Life Foundation" website notes that there are two "breast cancer" license plates available in Alabama.  So they ask their supporters to print out a copy of the image of their plate and take it along to the Probate Office, to be sure they're given the correct tag: http://www.joytolife.org/pinkyourride.php 

    I guess it really doesn't matter that much, because we win, either way.

    otter 

    [Edit:  Now, I'm not sayin' I'm going to put either one of these on my car. I kind of like the design of the license plate I already have.  But, I sure wouldn't mind if other people bought them.] 

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  • kdeit
    kdeit Member Posts: 209
    edited October 2009

    Hey Otter,

    Glad to see you here on this thread!!  Florida also has a breast cancer tag - it's got just a little bit of "Pink" - subtler than either of Alabama's  Wink  $25 of the tag cost goes to the Florida Breast Cancer Foundation - I checked them on Charity Navigator, but they don't come up, so I just hope that the State did a good job of checking into them before approving the tag. 

    Glad you have found some "good" pink, LOL.

    Hugs,

    Karen

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  • turtle42
    turtle42 Member Posts: 139
    edited October 2009

    I dont post much, I just like reading everyones posts but I had to coment on this thread because I too love the pink ribbon stuff. I got a pink ribbon tattoo on my 1st cancerversary. Alot of my family and friends wear pink to show their support when I am with them and I really appreciate thier support. I also buy alot of the pink stuff for myself. I love it when I am in line at the check out and someone asks me about my tattoo or whatever pink item I have on that day. I tell them my story and in alot of instances they end up tellling me that they are past due for their mammo but are going to go schedule it as soon as they can. So if I help just one person I feel it is worth all the pink I can get my hands on.

    Jackie

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  • kdeit
    kdeit Member Posts: 209
    edited October 2009

    I participate in the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Cancer walk because of the valuable work that ACS has sponsored over the years - yes, they use PINK - but I don't care, when it makes things like this possible:

     Thanks to people like you, we've invested more in cancer research over time than any other voluntary public health organization. As the nation's largest source of private, nonprofit cancer research funds, the American Cancer Society has distributed more than $3.3 billion to researchers since 1946. We take pride in funding promising researchers early in their careers, and our track record is something we share with pride. Of the researchers chosen for Society funding throughout the years, 42 have gone on to win the Nobel Prize. In fact, the Society invests more in breast cancer research than any other tumor site. Your support has allowed the American Cancer Society to be involved in nearly every major breast cancer research breakthrough of the last century, including:

    • Funding research into breast-conserving surgery, using lumpectomy plus radiation for treatment
    • Establishing mammography as the gold standard to find breast cancer early
    • Discovering lifesaving treatments (such as Herceptin) to improve breast cancer survival and drugs (such as Tamoxifen) to reduce the risk of second or first breast cancer
    • Discovering genes for inherited breast and colon cancer
    • Knowledge that genetics, diet, lack of exercise, and alcohol abuse can increase a person's cancer risk
    • Discovering cancer-causing oncogenes and tumor-suppressor genes

    While the Society spends more on breast cancer than on any other solid tumor site, many of the research grants we support may have relevance to many kinds of cancers. Currently, breast cancer research projects are underway at institutions across the country, thanks in large part to the funds raised by Making Strides Against Breast Cancer participants. With your continued help, we can fund more critical research projects one of which could result in a breakthrough that would lead to fewer diagnoses and lower the number of deaths from breast cancer each year.

    Hugs,

    Karen

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