Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2014 offers so many different factions teaming up in an effort to bring breast cancer awareness that it’s really overwhelming. So how many of you think that P.F. Chang, or the NFL, or Ford—or a myriad of other companies—would have an interest in breast cancer awareness if breast cancer awareness didn’t generate capital for their own brand?
I’ve watched this branding of breast cancer awareness grow for so many years and, frankly, I’m tired of it. I wonder if any of these brands give a fig about real breast cancer awareness. Or is all the branding? I wonder. And all those galas—I don’t know one breast cancer patient or breast cancer survivor who has dressed up to attend a breast cancer gala. The reason for that of course is that the patient is generally too ill to go to the gala. Besides, she probably has chemo or radiation in the morning anyway.
I’m a breast cancer survivor and I don’t know if I speak for others, but I’m sick of all this nonsense. I want a cure for breast cancer, not another fancy gala where others can dress up and celebrate? And I want to know what they’re celebrating anyway? Breast cancer awareness? A cure for breast cancer awareness? And have any of those gala-goes ever seen what a breast cancer patient goes through or does a gala-goer know how chemo, or radiation, or the fear of leaving your family behind feels?
Pardon me if I’m not buying the whole breast cancer awareness month any more. I was totally on-board with breast cancer awareness way back when the disease needed more breast cancer awareness. In fact, I remember a time when the disease was whispered about. But times change. And now breast cancer awareness is the hottest game in town and it generates big money for the companies that support it.
Really, we need to stop and recalculate the breast cancer war. Aren’t you sick of pink washing? Aren’t you tired of watching your loved ones die of the disease?
We need to do some research if we’re buying a pink cake or painting our town pink. We need to know how each breast cancer awareness campaign is going to change the face of the breast cancer. We need to quit putting our money into big pharma. And we need a cure for breast cancer.
Give us a cure for breast cancer. Let’s stop all the nonsense. Let’s stop cancer.