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Posted
Just saw that a friend of mine was participating in a breast cancer run called "Save Second Base". :001_huh: Really? Totally tasteless and frankly...insulting to women in my opinion.

 

:iagree:

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Posted

Sara-

 

Breastfeeding, like any preventive measure or healthy choice, shouldn't be promoted bc it's a guarantee, but bc overall it does reduce risk.

 

And I completely agree more preventive efforts needs to be researched in general and more effective screening and treatment needs to be funded as well.

 

I'm so glad you beat the odds!

Posted

My Grandmother, Mother and Sister are all breast cancer survivors...

 

 

Am I the only one who feels this way?

 

You are not alone...

 

I think what started as a good idea has just gone so far overboard that it's causing many people to block it all out and I find that to be such a shame.

 

:iagree:

 

I think it's totally ruining what could be happening, though. They have commercialized it and are making profits off of people's tragedies. That seems to me to be the worst kind of exploitation.

 

:iagree:

 

 

 

I've heard the whole phenomena being referred to as "pink washing". This month all my prescriptions have pink tops. I'd rather the money spent to make them pink be spent on research.

 

Yep...

 

I cringe at those "save the ta-tas" bumper stickers and t-shirts. Save the woman!

 

:iagree: -- our farrier was wearing a rubber bracelet thingy that said "I love B**bies!" Really??:glare:

 

Just saw that a friend of mine was participating in a breast cancer run called "Save Second Base". :001_huh: Really? Totally tasteless and frankly...insulting to women in my opinion.

 

Disgusting is what it is...

Posted
I can't say I'm particularly annoyed; I only wish that heart disease received the same awareness. It kills more woman than any other disease, but goes largely unnoticed.

 

Diann

 

This is me. I'm glad they have that level of public awareness. I'm just jealous that Duchenne's muscular dystrophy doesn't have the same level of recognition. They USED to have the Labor Day telethon, but with Jerry Lewis out of the picture and the telethon restructured, I'm not sure how it's going to turn out. When people say things like "There is 'only' a 60 percent survival rate with_____ cancer." I always cringe a little because Duchenne's STILL has a 0 % survival rate. ZERO. I'd sell my soul for a 5% chance for these little boys. The awareness just isn't there. I constantly run into people who confuse muscular dystrophy with multiple sclerosis. We'd kill to be lucky enough to be dealing with MS!

Posted

My mother did not survive breast cancer. She died at 48, after over a year of treatment that included a bilateral radical mastectomy.

 

I can't stand the pink. Neither could she. She had a drawer full of pink junk that people gave her when she was diagnosed. You know what she really appreciated? People sitting with her at chemo.

 

I can't stand "save the tatas." Maybe if she'd had her mastectomy sooner, she'd still be here. Her doctors wanted to be more conservative. You'd better believe that if I'm ever diagnosed, those suckers are gone. If I have to threaten to chop them off myself, I will.

 

I'm pretty much averse to any ad campaigns that seek to donate "a portion" of sales to fund research. In high school, I worked for a little Italian restaurant. Every year, on the day of the MD telethon, they would take ALL of the money from the sales that day and write a check to send in.

 

If you're going to do something, do it. Don't color something pink and donate 1% of your sale.

Posted

Instead of bombarding consumers with pink buckets of fried chicken, :001_huh:perhaps Komen could become more thoughtful, more deliberate about raising support and awareness. .

 

Yeah, because we know that eating FRIED CHICKEN is so helpful in the prevention of cancer....

 

That was a real eyebrow-raiser when KFC did that.

Posted

I'm pretty much averse to any ad campaigns that seek to donate "a portion" of sales to fund research. In high school, I worked for a little Italian restaurant. Every year, on the day of the MD telethon, they would take ALL of the money from the sales that day and write a check to send in.

 

If you're going to do something, do it. Don't color something pink and donate 1% of your sale.

 

I'm sorry about your Mom. And you are right. If you are actually going to do something, just DO it. Stop pretending it is a humanitarian gesture when you are just filling your own pockets.

Posted
My mother did not survive breast cancer. She died at 48, after over a year of treatment that included a bilateral radical mastectomy.

 

I can't stand the pink. Neither could she. She had a drawer full of pink junk that people gave her when she was diagnosed. You know what she really appreciated? People sitting with her at chemo.

 

I can't stand "save the tatas." Maybe if she'd had her mastectomy sooner, she'd still be here. Her doctors wanted to be more conservative. You'd better believe that if I'm ever diagnosed, those suckers are gone. If I have to threaten to chop them off myself, I will.

 

I'm pretty much averse to any ad campaigns that seek to donate "a portion" of sales to fund research. In high school, I worked for a little Italian restaurant. Every year, on the day of the MD telethon, they would take ALL of the money from the sales that day and write a check to send in.

 

If you're going to do something, do it. Don't color something pink and donate 1% of your sale.

 

 

:iagree:

 

This. Exactly this.

Posted
Please keep in mind that my mother is a breast cancer survivor, so I'm not coming into this opinion without an understanding of or sympathy about the disease. I just am tired of seeing it EVERYWHERE. Do we not have other diseases or problems in this country that need more publicity than they are getting?

 

I feel that all these companies that put it on their products are too afraid to say no to it because they will come off as not caring about women's health. I'm to the point that I don't want to even buy something if it has it on it. My husband is watching football and showed me how it's on there, too.

 

Am I the only one who feels this way?

 

:iagree:

 

I am tired of seeing it everywhere. My DH is Hodgkin Lymphoma survivor, but I never seen any thing done for awareness of it. I also don't think that all that money is doing much good. I'd think we could have found a cure by now . . .

Posted
Yes, I'm tired of it. I refuse to buy "pink". I also refuse to "support" any other medical "research" (yeah right!) campaigns. The money is in treatment, not the cure. Therefore we will never "find the cure", or at least, it'll never be released to the public. Can you imagine how many 100's of thousands of people would be out of jobs, from the lowest of low on the totem pole mail room person in the ACS offices all the way up to the docs, pharmaceutical researches, pharma bigwigs, etc.

 

This is my opinion. I'm not going to change it, so there is no reason to try to reason with me. While I do enjoy a good debate when I'm in the mood, tonight is not one of those times.

:iagree: I think there isa cure, but we will never hear about it because there is too much $$$ with cancer - from pink products to chemo, etc., etc.

Posted
This is me. I'm glad they have that level of public awareness. I'm just jealous that Duchenne's muscular dystrophy doesn't have the same level of recognition. They USED to have the Labor Day telethon, but with Jerry Lewis out of the picture and the telethon restructured, I'm not sure how it's going to turn out. When people say things like "There is 'only' a 60 percent survival rate with_____ cancer." I always cringe a little because Duchenne's STILL has a 0 % survival rate. ZERO. I'd sell my soul for a 5% chance for these little boys. The awareness just isn't there. I constantly run into people who confuse muscular dystrophy with multiple sclerosis. We'd kill to be lucky enough to be dealing with MS!

 

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

Posted
Just saw that a friend of mine was participating in a breast cancer run called "Save Second Base". :001_huh: Really? Totally tasteless and frankly...insulting to women in my opinion.

 

:iagree: and I also hate the Save The Boobie bracelets.:glare:

Posted
I went into a coffee shop the other day and the ENTIRE store was about breast cancer awareness. I just wanted a cup of coffee, KWIM?

 

And why is it that during the entire month I never hear about breastfeeding reducing the risk??

 

Exactly! I think we are all AWARE! When the NFL is wearing pink gloves? We get it.

 

We need to focus on prevention and treatment. And one of the best things we can do is breastfeed!

Posted
My mother did not survive breast cancer. She died at 48, after over a year of treatment that included a bilateral radical mastectomy.

 

I can't stand the pink. Neither could she. She had a drawer full of pink junk that people gave her when she was diagnosed. You know what she really appreciated? People sitting with her at chemo.

 

I can't stand "save the tatas." Maybe if she'd had her mastectomy sooner, she'd still be here. Her doctors wanted to be more conservative. You'd better believe that if I'm ever diagnosed, those suckers are gone. If I have to threaten to chop them off myself, I will.

 

I'm pretty much averse to any ad campaigns that seek to donate "a portion" of sales to fund research. In high school, I worked for a little Italian restaurant. Every year, on the day of the MD telethon, they would take ALL of the money from the sales that day and write a check to send in.

 

If you're going to do something, do it. Don't color something pink and donate 1% of your sale.

 

:iagree:

 

I just got tested for the BRCA and BRAT genes. If I'd been positive I would have had them cut off ASAP. My mom, aunt and grandma all had breast cancer. Thankfully, they all survived.

 

I'm hoping the near-decade of breastfeeding will help me escape it.

Posted
:iagree: I think there isa cure, but we will never hear about it because there is too much $$$ with cancer - from pink products to chemo, etc., etc.

 

I just can't *live* with that level of conspiracy thinking. The thought of what it would take - how many thousands of people - it would take to keep such a secret is too much for me to consider.

 

THAT would be evil (not smurfs, teletubbies, homosexuality, Harry Potter or Witchcraft).

 

I believe that the profit motive can and does damage, but I simply refuse to believe that enough people in the medical sciences can complicit together to exclude healing.

Posted
I just can't *live* with that level of conspiracy thinking. The thought of what it would take - how many thousands of people - it would take to keep such a secret is too much for me to consider.

 

THAT would be evil (not smurfs, teletubbies, homosexuality, Harry Potter or Witchcraft).

 

I believe that the profit motive can and does damage, but I simply refuse to believe that enough people in the medical sciences can complicit together to exclude healing.

 

:iagree:

Posted
I just can't *live* with that level of conspiracy thinking. The thought of what it would take - how many thousands of people - it would take to keep such a secret is too much for me to consider.

 

THAT would be evil (not smurfs, teletubbies, homosexuality, Harry Potter or Witchcraft).

 

I believe that the profit motive can and does damage, but I simply refuse to believe that enough people in the medical sciences can complicit together to exclude healing.

 

 

Really? Tuskegee anyone? And by no stretch is that the only such incident we could name.

 

I find it completely likely.

Posted
Saying a prayer for your friend.

 

Thank you, Tanya, I just found out today she's in rehab getting strength from her first chemo so she can go home. She's in good spirits, just still in shock. She found out about the cancer and had surgery in a span of a week. We are all still in shock.

Posted

 

I feel that all these companies that put it on their products are too afraid to say no to it because they will come off as not caring about women's health. I'm to the point that I don't want to even buy something if it has it on it. My husband is watching football and showed me how it's on there, too.

 

Am I the only one who feels this way?

 

I'm sick of it, too. While watching football yesterday, I would root for the team with the least amount of pink! I think it has turned into a huge marketing scam. Just look at football. All those pink gloves, socks, shoes, arm bands, referee clothes....to be worn once?? What a waste of money. If the NFL wants to support breast cancer research, just donate the $$ they spent on wear-one-time clothes.

Posted

I keep thinking that while research for a cure is a good thing, why all the emphasis on breast cancer? (And I'm really tired of the "Save the ta-tas" and "I love boobies" bracelets, tees, and what not!) Sure it effects a lot of women and is an emotional roller coaster ride. I get it. But I also know that heart disease KILLS more women than breast cancer does so why don't we we get inundated with that information? It's all very unbalanced currently.

Posted
Really? Tuskegee anyone? And by no stretch is that the only such incident we could name.

 

I find it completely likely.

 

I am a trained psychotherapist - I am very familiar with the top 10 ethical violations.

 

The one you mentioned is not comparible to a cure for cancer at all.

Posted
I am a trained psychotherapist - I am very familiar with the top 10 ethical violations.

 

The one you mentioned is not comparible to a cure for cancer at all.

 

Not that it takes much training to make a simple extrapolation.

 

You: I just can't live with that level of conspiracy thinking.

...

I believe that the profit motive can and does damage, but I simply refuse to believe that enough people in the medical sciences can complicit together to exclude healing.

 

Me: Really? And proceed to give ONE example in medical science where many were complicit to the point of excluding healing.

 

Sure we can debate degrees of magnitude. I never stated otherwise.

My only point was it is believable because it's happened before in many different varieties.

 

You don't need training to comprehend that. It's historical fact.

Posted

I've continued to think about this, and I have mixed feelings. If a brand sells dish soap for $.99 year round and then in October colors it pink and continues to sell it for $.99 during that month, what's evil about it? I don't think any manufacturers have a corner on the pink market, and I for one don't buy a certain product just because its pink. Now if my usual brand has 2 options; pink and regular I go for pink. Even if its just a small percentage of the profit, if I buy the usual color there's no percentage of the profit going to the charity.

 

FWIW, I have a strong history of breast cancer in my family and will likely get it at some point. My grandmother didn't get it until she was in her 70's thanks to breastfeeding, I believe. My aunt who didn't breastfeed got it in her 40's. My aunt loves October and wears a pink ribbon every day.

Posted

Well, I got an email from my oldest dd's soccer coach today that he ordered pink wristbands for all the girls and would we all please reimburse him $5 for the wristband donation. It feels like donating at gun point. <sigh> (MY dd won't wear the wristbands because they irritate her no end, from a sensory perspective.)

 

Last year her soccer team did a big deal thing through out October for SGK and every week emails went out with lists of who donated how much. I was so unbelievably uncomfortable with that. :( And for our own personal reasons, we don't support SGK, so it is doubly hard. :-/

 

I am all for cancer research and awareness and so forth, but the two main cancers that are fought in my family aren't ones you ever hear about or have anyone talk about or raise money for.

Posted

 

The thing that hurts the most is that because neither of us went through chemo and/or radiation, we've both been made to feel like we "didn't really have a real cancer" (my mom was actually told this by a co-worker back when she was first diagnosed). Nobody celebrates our survival except us. We sport lovely scars on our necks and I'm thankful for that scar as it very well may have saved my life.

 

 

 

:001_huh: Wow, just totally wow. :confused: Will people never cease to find ways to invalidate and belittle others' experiences and hardships????? I am so sorry. :grouphug:

Posted
This is me. I'm glad they have that level of public awareness. I'm just jealous that Duchenne's muscular dystrophy doesn't have the same level of recognition. They USED to have the Labor Day telethon, but with Jerry Lewis out of the picture and the telethon restructured, I'm not sure how it's going to turn out. When people say things like "There is 'only' a 60 percent survival rate with_____ cancer." I always cringe a little because Duchenne's STILL has a 0 % survival rate. ZERO. I'd sell my soul for a 5% chance for these little boys. The awareness just isn't there. I constantly run into people who confuse muscular dystrophy with multiple sclerosis. We'd kill to be lucky enough to be dealing with MS!

 

I'm so sorry.

 

I know what you mean. My mom and I are both thyroid cancer survivors along with 2 other family members. Thyroid issues run heavily in our family (several other cousins have thryoid conditions). I'm worried for my oldest ds who has hypothyroidism (like the rest of us) that he will also develop thyroid cancer.

 

My mom has developed a severe muscle/skin disease that can ultimately kill her and turns out is a condition that people who have had thyroid cancer are at risk of developing. So far I haven't, but I'm only 9 mos past surgery and 8 mos past treatment. I'm still struggling to get stable on replacement meds.

 

The thing that hurts the most is that because neither of us went through chemo and/or radiation, we've both been made to feel like we "didn't really have a real cancer" (my mom was actually told this by a co-worker back when she was first diagnosed). Nobody celebrates our survival except us.

 

I'll celebrate with you.

 

My best friend is a 4.5 year breast cancer survivor. The pink stuff has always seemed like a cheesy marketing scheme to me. And now that I've got a huge battle with ovarian cancer looming over me, I want to know where the heck is the support for the rest of us.

Posted (edited)
Really? Tuskegee anyone? And by no stretch is that the only such incident we could name.

 

I find it completely likely.

 

Yeah, I'm with Martha.

 

It's not only likely, it is probable. And it isn't that everyone is in cahoots, it is just that the big money controls the flow of information, and it goes down the line. Little guy at the bottom rungs is just doing his job, with the information fed to him. Drug reps "educate" doctors about their great products to treat disease, based on FDA approval (there's a whole sticky wicket right there), busy doctors use them, the cycle continues.

 

I can't live with the Pollyanna-ish level of trust it requires to believe that everyone with a financial interest in something is pure, honorable, just and true and does the right thing, when the wrong thing is more profitable. I just don't have it.

Edited by TranquilMind
Posted
I'm so sorry.

 

 

 

I'll celebrate with you.

 

My best friend is a 4.5 year breast cancer survivor. The pink stuff has always seemed like a cheesy marketing scheme to me. And now that I've got a huge battle with ovarian cancer looming over me, I want to know where the heck is the support for the rest of us.

 

Yeah, I will celebrate with you too.

 

And I pray that you beat this, scrappy (if it is you, or if a relative, that it gets healed soon).

Posted
And now that I've got a huge battle with ovarian cancer looming over me, I want to know where the heck is the support for the rest of us.

 

:( You have my prayers and support. :grouphug: I am so sorry you are facing this. :(

Posted
And now that I've got a huge battle with ovarian cancer looming over me, I want to know where the heck is the support for the rest of us.

:grouphug:My prayers are with you.

Posted

I wish that other cancers would get the spotlight occasionally. I lost my mom to lung cancer last year. Lung cancer doesn't get nearly as much attention as it should. My mom didn't smoke, and her type of cancer wasn't related to smoking, but it seems when someone hears lung cancer they automatically think 'that's what you get for smoking' or something like that. Cancer is a horrible thing, no matter what type it is.

Posted

I haven't read all the responses, so forgive me if I'm just repeating what others have already said.

 

OP, I can say that I am genuinely thrilled with the advances we have made in the diagnosing and treatment of breast cancer. I also know that many of those advances were made because of the heavy push of this pink ribbon campaign. However, I wish other types of cancer also got the same attention. I am a 20+ year cancer survivor (non-Hodgkins lymphoma). My mom, however, battled lymphoma for 8 years before passing away. We were diagnosed within about 6 months of each other. At the time, lymphoma was considered a non-heriditary, male cancer. Just shows there is a lot to still be discovered about other cancers, too.

 

:) Beachy

Posted
:iagree: One organization I started paying attention to is Stand UP 2 Cancer.

 

 

 

:iagree: As a cancer survivor, I agree, but I didn't have breast cancer. I can't buy a pink t-shirt that says survivor because I don't want everyone to think I survived breast cancer. The above organization is the first place I've seen a "survivor" shirt that isn't marketed to a specific cancer.

 

Paula, thanks for posting this link. I am a cancer survivor, too, and I would like to see $$$ go to all cancer research & treatment.

Posted (edited)
Odd. Relay for Life here gives all cancer survivors in the community a t-shirt that says 'survivor' and honors them at their fundraising event.

 

I have never done a relay for life, they're around, but I never seem to hear about them until afterward.

 

The Komen race is much more publicized.

Edited by elegantlion
Posted
Just saw that a friend of mine was participating in a breast cancer run called "Save Second Base". :001_huh: Really? Totally tasteless and frankly...insulting to women in my opinion.

:iagree::iagree: If there is a race for cervical cancer, is it called "Save the Home Run?" :tongue_smilie:

 

I wonder how all these "save the ___" slogans affect women who have already lost their breast(s) to cancer? If I had had my breasts removed as part of cancer treatment, I think those "save the ___" slogans would really sting. :crying:

 

FWIW, my father had his stomach taken out this summer (esophageal cancer that was [fortunately] in his stomach), and he is still a complete person. He's lost weight, sure, but he's still a whole human being.

 

And a woman is more than her breasts!

Posted

I don't have an issue with people supporting a certain cancer or having an organization for it. That's certainly their choice. My issue with the SGK is that of all the money they get, only 21% actually goes to any type of breast cancer research. That borders on a scam to me. When they claim it's pink for a cure, but in actuality it's 79% for profit and 21% for research and not all of that research is even cure based research.

 

So if someone feels a particular desire to advocate for breast cancer, fine by me. But PLEASE choose one of the many other organizations who can't get an edge in on the advertising market bc they actually spend far far more towards their stated goal.

 

I think it's normal for people to have personal causes they want to support more than breast cancer. We all have limited funds and I think there is nothing wrong with wanting our charitable funds to go to what we feel stronger about. Be it lupus, heart disease, lymphoma, breastfeeding encouragement, diabetes or whatever.

Posted
I don't have an issue with people supporting a certain cancer or having an organization for it. That's certainly their choice. My issue with the SGK is that of all the money they get, only 21% actually goes to any type of breast cancer research. That borders on a scam to me. When they claim it's pink for a cure, but in actuality it's 79% for profit and 21% for research and not all of that research is even cure based research.

 

So if someone feels a particular desire to advocate for breast cancer, fine by me. But PLEASE choose one of the many other organizations who can't get an edge in on the advertising market bc they actually spend far far more towards their stated goal.

 

I think it's normal for people to have personal causes they want to support more than breast cancer. We all have limited funds and I think there is nothing wrong with wanting our charitable funds to go to what we feel stronger about. Be it lupus, heart disease, lymphoma, breastfeeding encouragement, diabetes or whatever.

 

 

:iagree:

 

 

I read a few months back that SGK was also spending massive amounts of money suing any other charity that used the phrase "for the cure". They sued a tiny (in comparison) charity called "Kites for the Cure". I refuse to purchase from or support SGK in any way.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/07/komen-foundation-charities-cure_n_793176.html

Posted

Haven't read all the responses yet. I really hate "save the ta-ta's" and all the second base nonesense. It is so degrading to women. Breasts don't get breast cancer, women get breast cancer. I'm afraid this is just another example of our vulgar, sex-obsessed society.

Posted
Yeah, I'm with Martha.

 

It's not only likely, it is probable. And it isn't that everyone is in cahoots, it is just that the big money controls the flow of information, and it goes down the line. Little guy at the bottom rungs is just doing his job, with the information fed to him. Drug reps "educate" doctors about their great products to treat disease, based on FDA approval (there's a whole sticky wicket right there), busy doctors use them, the cycle continues.

 

I can't live with the Pollyanna-ish level of trust it requires to believe that everyone with a financial interest in something is pure, honorable, just and true and does the right thing, when the wrong thing is more profitable. I just don't have it.

 

False dichotomy. My choices aren't "believe that if there was a cure for cancer, it would be shared" and "I can't live with the Pollyanna-ish level of trust it requires to believe that everyone with a financial interest in something is pure, honorable, just and true and does the right thing, when the wrong thing is more profitable. I just don't have."

 

:glare:

Posted
Haven't read all the responses yet. I really hate "save the ta-ta's" and all the second base nonesense. It is so degrading to women. Breasts don't get breast cancer, women get breast cancer. I'm afraid this is just another example of our vulgar, sex-obsessed society.

 

Personally, I think the "second base" stuff is tacky. And, yes, the boobie bracelets and "tata" phrasing plays on our culture's fondness of breasts (from a sexual standpoint.)

 

But I think the *motive* behind the more, um, base phrasing is still to bring awareness to a larger issue. It's not like people (skaters and youth for the wristbands) need to create ways to feature breasts.

Posted

Thought you guys would find it interesting that the pink think is so international now! Just got back from a week in Dubai. EVERY mall had pink displays, pink fashion shows, pink window dressings, you name it. And there were very large signs around the city encouraging women to go for breast exams. I had never realized before how widespread the campaign had become.

Posted (edited)
False dichotomy. My choices aren't "believe that if there was a cure for cancer, it would be shared" and "I can't live with the Pollyanna-ish level of trust it requires to believe that everyone with a financial interest in something is pure, honorable, just and true and does the right thing, when the wrong thing is more profitable. I just don't have."

 

:glare:

 

Merely an observation, based on a lot of experiences.

Edited by TranquilMind
Posted

Hmm, I didn't get the sense the pp was talking about other cancer survivors acting as if she didn't have cancer, but the general population. I doubt anyone who hasn't been through chemo would invalidate the harsh reality of chemo/radiation. Maybe I read her post wrong...

Posted (edited)

Thanks, OP, for verbalizing this! I never felt good about buying the pink items, but couldn't put my finger on why. It's just become so commercialized. And I always had heard that heart disease kills more women than breast cancer. Where was heart disease?

 

The pink thing seemed to just be one of those that capitalizes on peoples desire to "feel good" without really doing anything.

 

The way I have felt makes sense now reading about their percentages, and good grief! Suing other charities for using "for the cure"? Wouldn't they be happy other charities are getting support too? That's disgusting.

Edited by coloradoperkins
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