Well, today is the last day of October; and as such, Breast Cancer Awareness Month is coming to an end. I participate in a discussion board at http://www.breastcancer.org/ and there are some who think that the whole "Pinktober" thing is totally overdone. There is concern that it appears there are lots of corporate donations heading towards breast cancer research, but that it might not be as much as it seems. You can buy everything in "breast cancer ribbon pink" from a dishwashing scrubbie to a KitchenAid mixer, and pretty much any article of clothing, handbag, jewelry...you name it, you can get it. Does Komen go too far by "pimping out" the pink ribbon, as some have suggested? Or do you think it really helps the cause, and contributes millions of dollars to research for a cure?
Personally, I'm OK with all the pink. First, I always liked the color; I actually have a pink netbook that I ordered long before I got breast cancer. Now it looks like I did it on purpose...lol. I have pink ribbon jewelry made by a blogger friend/artist; I have shirts with pink ribbons collected from years of participating in the Komen Race for the Cure; and I have lots of wearable pink in my wardrobe because it just happens to be a good color for me. I am not sure how I feel about seeing big, brawny NFL players wearing pink on gameday but then, the NFL is a huge supporter so I guess it's OK.
If all this "hoopla" really, truly raises awareness and makes one single woman do a self-exam, get a mammogram, and detect breast cancer early, then it's worth it. If the money truly ends up in the hands of scientists who finally discover the magic bullet that cures breast cancer, then it's worth it.
One survivor on the breastcancer.org blog wrote this, and I think it's a great idea:
"..I've also decided to create my own holiday: Breast Cancer Remembrance Day. On Oct, 31, the final day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I will remember the friends and family I have lost to this disease. It's Sunday, so I will light a candle for them and say some prayers...
"At 8:45 pm that night I will go outside with a flashlight. I'll think of the one in 8 U.S. women who will get breast cancer and the 45,000 who will die this year.
"My eighth grade science teacher told us if you turned on a flashlight and pointed it toward the sky the photons leave the flashlight and they immediately start to spread out. Provided that they don't hit anything, each individual photon travels through space forever.
"Time slows down as you approach the speed of light.
"I'll think of those whose time was all too brief and I'll hope for brighter days ahead."
So, Angie and Bev, I'll be thinking of you at 8:45 tonight.
And Donna, I'll be thinking of you at 8:45 tonight, too. And tomorrow. You see, tomorrow Donna will be having a mastectomy as breast cancer has paid her another unwelcome visit, for the third time. Donna is a true warrior who has been to battle too many times.
A cure ... we need a cure.
I'm OK with most methods of getting more research dollars for breast cancer. The only thing I don't like is when professional fund raising organizations take way too much of the donation. There are some who keep 90% of the donation, so the charity gets very little.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I would love to see football players sporting pink at a game.
Anything that brings awareness is okay by me. I don't think it can be over done as there are still many more women out there who do not do self examination or get regular mammograms.
ReplyDeleteElaine
I agree with the others. I don't mind at all being asked for donations for breast cancer. Who knows when it will hit me or any of my friends?
ReplyDeleteI give freely. They ask each time I'm at the supermarket if I want to donate. One day they had chocolate covered strawberries and other treats at the supermarket. I walked over and handed them some money as a donation. The person who was giving them out wanted to give me something. I said, "No, thank you." They looked so surprised that I was donating for "nothing"....but I wasn't donating for "nothing". I was donating to a great cause. Boy, that chocolate covered strawberry was VERY TEMPTING. I still said no, because as you know I'm diabetic.