Pinktober...on Steroids!
I'm in line at Michaels, and what do I see tucked between the Christmas and Halloween craft sections? A huge display of Pinktober crafting items and doodads! You would not believe the pink goop they have on display this year. Here's a sample: pink duct tape, pink rubber ducky, "knit and crocket for breast cancer" yarn, pink ear buds, pink markers, pink ribbon stickers, pink gourmet lollipops, bc ribbon cupcake liners, pink reading glasses, pink gloves, and bc ribbon flag kits. Seriously, I'm not making this up. There was more, but that's all I could jot down before the line moved.
The bc reminders are bad enough, but I find it kind of disturbing that breast cancer is being treated like a holiday...something you make crafts and cupcakes for. For those of us who have suffered through this disease, it sure was no holiday. I think I'm going to have to mix some pink grenadine into my vodka and tonic to deal with this new "holiday." Ugh!
Comments
-
Ugh is right. I saw the same display and quickly walked by it.
-
What I want to know is, if breast cancer becomes a holiday, do I get a day off from work? I might be more enthusiastic about getting my pink on if I have the right incentive!
-
I saw the same display!!!
-
barf
-
Glad I am not the only one who gets nauseous at the sight of pink!
One love, Jackie
-
Celtic,
check this pink oct !@#$ out!!!!! I am in a sporting goods store to find my son some cleets for football, right? Feeling kinda like a normal mom for a second . Whoop there it is!!!!!!!!!!!
First display, Disco sparkled pink shimmery hats, pink water bottles with big pink ribbons on them! Pink work out close up the wazuuu, such do gooders this store . I freaked out, i just could not take one more display of crap, that is so pretty and making money off women who have suffered beyond belief!!! So, I went a little postal, my poor daughter, who actually is quite crazy herself, because i'm her mom!!!! I looked at bella my daughter and I held up the sparkling hat , I held it up high for all to see, and then I shout, (THIS IS NOT WHAT BREAST CANCER LOOKS LIKE, ITS UGLY, AND NOT PINK OR SEQUENCED!!!!) ohhhhhhhhh my gosh, I thought people were going to faint, they thought I was a freak. Bella and I went on our merry way, she did not care , she even said herself, boy you got that right mom!!! ! I mean come on this is stupid and insulting. Pink oct. is now a great big marketing tool!!! Yeah.
SO frustrated...............................
steph
-
I hate hate hate pinktober...find a damn cure or vacine with all the damn $$$$$$$$$$$.this makes me sooo sick.
-
Right there with you all on this.
-
Hi Just a question. How did they pick the color pink and the Month of October to "Celebrate Breast Cancer"? It kind of makes me sad that some companies use this month just to make money using the color pink on their product. SharonH
-
You know the thing that really sucks is that I'm sure Pinktober started out with good intentions. To raise awareness and hopefully find a cure/prevention for this stinkin disease. But like the rest of you already said it's SO out of control now and just used as a marketing tool.
Guarantee you that almost all of those displays are not contributing one red cent to "the cause". Grrrrrrrrrrrrr..........But I suppose if it saves one woman (by reminding them to get screened, etc.) from having to go through this then I guess it is worth something? Although now I wonder if people just "tune it out" because they've become desensitized to it...........Sharon
-
as I put on my Facebook page: screw pink ribbons.
all this pinkwashing is an insult to any woman who has lived with, survived, or died from this fucking disease. and i'm done with saying people mean well. thinking human beings can figure out that pink ribbons and cheeriness about everything from cleats to art supplies do not matter in the thick of illness, fear, and death.
i am doing the Race for the Cure in the city Sunday morning - with "Screw Pink Ribbons, It's a Cure We Need!" on my shirt. (and, of course, I will include a shout out to my lovely BCO.org gals).
xo
j
-
I'm going to *gasp* defend the pink...just a bit. I am SO not a pinkTober person. In fact, if you are my facebook friend, you will see my profile pic of the "pink hell month" bunny come October. I'll bash the pink ribbon 90% of the time.
However, a very good friend of mine died in June of a very rare, almost certainly fatal kidney cancer. So rare that there is very little research being done on his type of cancer. AND his 3 year old has the chromosome that is a flag for this cancer.
There is some good that comes from all this pink crap. More money goes toward breast cancer research than any other cancer. Also, the massive pinking caused many voices to be heard about the yoplait yogurt containing rBGH and now make it free of this hormone.
More money needs to go to metastatic BC research, and to help the women in the trenches going through treatment. I'm a bit cynical that there will ever be a cure for these nasty cells..but I do have hope.
The pinking is irritating. But I do try to remember that it's a mixed blessing.
There..now...I'm gonna go post on Arty's facebook to tell him I miss him.
-
On my FB page today- after seeing a GIANT pink fire truck with a big silver ribbon screaming "Pink Heals!" outside my grocery store- as I walk in with my wig and sore taxol joints......I wanted to scream at someone at the top of my lungs....
"There is NOTHING pink nor pretty about the disease and I'd rather see my money go to research toward a CURE instead of the commercialization of prevention and awareness- while they are important-98 %of funding goes toward them- and a mere 2% goes toward the form of the disease that kills 40,000 woman a year. Thank you for letting me vent, Sincerely, she who hopes not to be one of those 40,000."
-
Hey J,
tell us how you really feel!!!!!! I love you!! your the best!!
xo
steph
-
Football players in pink shoes and gloves, pink smiley faces, pink lollipops, pink armbands...gag! I hate Pinktober!
-
I want to wear a black shirt with grey or maroon ribbon and big grey letters stating "PRETTY PINK RIBBONS NO MORE, LET'S RESEARCH FOR SISTERS WITH STAGE iV BECUASE CURRENTLY THERE IS NO CURE. WE WANT THEM LIVE BECAUSE THERE IS NO STAGE V
Barb
-
Every Oct. for the past 2 yrs.I post the same question...WHERE IS ALL THE DAMN $$$$$$$ goin????? 2% my ass.
-
Just came across this thread (confirming once again my feeling that the stage III sisters start all the best threads on BCO) - that's shocking. Next you know they will have pink turkeys and ice cream and pink champagne. Then we will celebrate Pinksgiving and watch warm and fuzzy movies on the Lifetime channel about "She-ros"
(Excuse me while I puke - hope it's not pink
) -
They already sell bottles of wine with big pink ribbons on it....it friggin stinks
-
Barb
-
Let's all take a preventative swig of PINK PEPTO-BISMOL!!!
Julie
-
Lets throw some voldka in that pepto bismol !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
we could all use it right about now!!!
S
-
I hate pink profit month too, shameful!! I can barely grocery shop. Or department store shop. Tie it up in a pretty little pink ribbon and glam it up (insert scream and swearing here)
But I do have a soft spot for the football players. The NFL players voluntarily wear the pink gear, which is then auctioned off after the game with proceeds going to the American Cancer Society and team charities. NFL Pink was started by a player who mother is fighting breast cancer. I know the manufacturer's sell their pink NFL stuff too, for profit, with "some" proceeds to charity. But since the players themselves do not make money off the deal, they are doing it for other reasons. I enjoy seeing them on the field with their pinkgear. I think it sends a good message to young people who look up to them.
As an aside, my kids all play youth football and every year their coaches ask the teams to vote on whether they want to wear pink socks or wrist bands for the October games to support women fighting the disease. Every year these kids vote yes. It makes me tear up every time. The boys are so proud to be supportive of the women affected by breast cancer. A lot of other cities in our league do the same, especially touching because we know one of the other player's mom passed away during the season last year.
-
Sherrig I spit my coffee out all over the sofa. You should warn people when you're going to post something like that!
-
hating pink too! Need to find another route to work on recycle day - as I am going to end up in trouble as i approach a freaking pink giant recycle can almost as tall as my car on the last block before work. Here i am driving in and praying that chemo brain is not so bad that I embarrass myself or one of my bosses, and what do I see? - that freaking pink can. I am either going to run the obscene thing over, or get out and tell those people how freaking stupid and annoying it is, and offer to buy them a regular one and send that ugly effing thing to the landfill.
-
Ahhhhh! I FINALLY get why you guys hate "Pink". I so didn't get it a week ago! I, naively, believed that every single pink product out there was solely for the purpose of those proceeds going directly to Breast Cancer research! NOW though, after reading a couple of these posts, I get it!!! Commercializing a disease solely for the purpose of profiting. Thanks for educating me!
-
This might not be popular but I am on the fence with this one. If I was going to buy an item and it came down to two like items I will purchase the one that states even a fraction of the proceeds are going to go to cancer research.
Not sure I get why people send me stuff with the ribbon on it. I have received socks, shirts, hats, blankets, etc... I think it is to show they are supportive but do they really think I going to walk around like a billboard for cancer???
Hate to say it but it is going to take money to find a cure and if it takes everyone buying pink products to raise the cash then I will buy pink products... I really don't want my daughter to experience having BC it's bad enough she had to see it up close with me.
-
I know that there are people making profit from pink that don't donate, but I want all the awareness possible. I don't know why the pretty pink was chosen, maybe it was a favorite color, but I know that it's everywhere and there are people with other cancers that wish their ribbon color was seen everywhere. I am certain the Komens know it's not a pretty disease. I am not trying to say you don't have a right to hate pink, but I am just saying I am going to use it anyway I can. At the hospital where I work, we paid $5.00 to put up signs in honor of or in memory of people and received a pink ribbon or pink rubber duck in return. We wore the ribbon and put the ducks on our desk. The signs in honor of or in memory of, line the halls of the hosptial clinic. A lot of money was raised. We had bake sale and yep, there were pink ribbon cookies. We used what those companies put out and we made money to donate to Komen and ACS. I work at UTMB (University of Texas Medical Branch) and here is what Komen has done for us:
Currently, the Komen Complete Care Project at UTMB provides almost $700,000 for breast cancer screening, diagnostics, and treatment for low income and uninsured women from Galveston, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Harris, Liberty, and Montgomery counties.
I am still willing and interested to hear other views on the subject. I hope I have not offended anyone. I have also read the Komen story looked at how much Komen and American Cancer Society spend on salaries and what gives to help fight cancer. I support both Komen and ACS. I have used my bald head picture on Relay for Life fund raising request. I works really well. I will use my cancer anyway I can to help stop cancer in the future. I hate cancer and love each and every one of you!
-
So glad, Celtic, you are going to make it to the pub. It has been declared a pink-free zone, and you will not be able to order a drink colored with pink grenadine. However you can fill up on Guinness and greasy, non redeeming pub fare.
If Celtic can do it all the way from San Diego, I am expecting some of you NC guys to make it.There will be no mention, either visual or auditory of breast cancer month. Just bring your slouch credentials.
-
Hi That pub sure does sound like fun. I think you said it was in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Sure looks like a pretty place. Maybe you all can take some pictures and post them here. Would be fun if we could have a slouch meeting here on the west coast. I have my slouch credentials ready. Maybe we could play a song by Pink and then sing our theme song Today I don't feel like doing anything .SharonH
Categories
- All Categories
- 679 Advocacy and Fund-Raising
- 289 Advocacy
- 68 I've Donated to Breastcancer.org in honor of....
- Test
- 322 Walks, Runs and Fundraising Events for Breastcancer.org
- 5.6K Community Connections
- 282 Middle Age 40-60(ish) Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 53 Australians and New Zealanders Affected by Breast Cancer
- 208 Black Women or Men With Breast Cancer
- 684 Canadians Affected by Breast Cancer
- 1.5K Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
- 455 Caring for Someone with Stage IV or Mets
- 260 High Risk of Recurrence or Second Breast Cancer
- 22 International, Non-English Speakers With Breast Cancer
- 16 Latinas/Hispanics With Breast Cancer
- 189 LGBTQA+ With Breast Cancer
- 152 May Their Memory Live On
- 85 Member Matchup & Virtual Support Meetups
- 375 Members by Location
- 291 Older Than 60 Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 177 Singles With Breast Cancer
- 869 Young With Breast Cancer
- 50.4K Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis
- 204 Breast Cancer with Another Diagnosis or Comorbidity
- 4K DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)
- 79 DCIS plus HER2-positive Microinvasion
- 529 Genetic Testing
- 2.2K HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
- 1.5K IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer)
- 3.4K IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)
- 1.5K ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma)
- 999 Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis
- 652 LCIS (Lobular Carcinoma In Situ)
- 193 Less Common Types of Breast Cancer
- 252 Male Breast Cancer
- 86 Mixed Type Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned
- 189 Palliative Therapy/Hospice Care
- 488 Second or Third Breast Cancer
- 1.2K Stage I Breast Cancer
- 313 Stage II Breast Cancer
- 3.8K Stage III Breast Cancer
- 2.5K Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
- 13.1K Day-to-Day Matters
- 132 All things COVID-19 or coronavirus
- 87 BCO Free-Cycle: Give or Trade Items Related to Breast Cancer
- 5.9K Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results
- 86 Coping with Holidays, Special Days and Anniversaries
- 828 Employment, Insurance, and Other Financial Issues
- 101 Family and Family Planning Matters
- Family Issues for Those Who Have Breast Cancer
- 26 Furry friends
- 1.8K Humor and Games
- 1.6K Mental Health: Because Cancer Doesn't Just Affect Your Breasts
- 706 Recipe Swap for Healthy Living
- 704 Recommend Your Resources
- 171 Sex & Relationship Matters
- 9 The Political Corner
- 874 Working on Your Fitness
- 4.5K Moving On & Finding Inspiration After Breast Cancer
- 394 Bonded by Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Life After Breast Cancer
- 806 Prayers and Spiritual Support
- 285 Who or What Inspires You?
- 28.7K Not Diagnosed But Concerned
- 1K Benign Breast Conditions
- 2.3K High Risk for Breast Cancer
- 18K Not Diagnosed But Worried
- 7.4K Waiting for Test Results
- 603 Site News and Announcements
- 560 Comments, Suggestions, Feature Requests
- 39 Mod Announcements, Breastcancer.org News, Blog Entries, Podcasts
- 4 Survey, Interview and Participant Requests: Need your Help!
- 61.9K Tests, Treatments & Side Effects
- 586 Alternative Medicine
- 255 Bone Health and Bone Loss
- 11.4K Breast Reconstruction
- 7.9K Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 2.7K Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment
- 775 Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results
- 7.8K Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 50 Immunotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 7.4K Just Diagnosed
- 1.4K Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy
- 5.2K Lymphedema
- 3.6K Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment
- 591 Pain
- 3.9K Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 8.4K Surgery - Before, During, and After
- 109 Welcome to Breastcancer.org
- 98 Acknowledging and honoring our Community
- 11 Info & Resources for New Patients & Members From the Team