Opinion: Smothering the real issue with Pink

I thought something was wrong with my TV.  I’d just settled in my recliner, turned on whatever football game Fox was trying to force down my throat at 1 PM, and found Eagles at Giants. Hoping to see Mike Vick get maimed, I tuned in.  (Editor’s Note: Senior Editor does not wish bodily harm on anyone playing football, however Senior Editor finds exception with Michael Vick, the scum of the earth, and openly enjoys seeing the ever-living shit get knocked out of him.) Upon seeing the field, I thought to myself, “Those pink yard lines look a little funny, and something must be wrong with my TV set… as it appears those guys are wearing pink shoes, and what’s that…? The refs are throwing pink flags? What the hell is going on here?”

Of course this is nothing new. For a few years now, during October, the NFL has pink everywhere on the field to promote breast cancer awareness.  Why… Most women hate/have no clue about football anyway! The NFL is not alone in this endeavor.  This month, you will be bombarded from every avenue imaginable with that horrid Pepto color “promoting” breast cancer awareness. You’ll see pink ribbons, pink t-shirts, pink TV ads, pink fund raisers, pink groceries, pink you name it. I think it’s safe to assume by this point we’re all “aware” of breast cancer.  Extremely and seriously, critically, very aware.  Is there anyone out there who hasn’t been made aware of breast cancer? (Knowing the worldwide success of The Jivewater News, it’s certain no man or woman is unaware now! But I digress…)

Of all the cancers, this seems to be the only one that gets an entire month, not to mention an entire clothing line, foods, events, etc., devoted to its awareness.  Who can tell me what month is prostate cancer awareness?  Pancreatic Cancer?  Leukemia?  Melanoma?  Colon Cancer? Lymphoma?  Lung Cancer? …Anyone?  Just seems like the only cancer anyone seems to care about enthusiastically “supporting” – is Breast Cancer.

This is absolutely not meant in any way to make light of those suffering from this terrible disease or its traumatic effect on individuals and families.  It is my sincere hope that we find a cure so that no one has to continue to endure the anguish, pain, grueling treatments, and aftermath.  This also isn’t meant to belittle anyone involved with raising funds to help find a cure.  If only everyone shared your passion and enthusiasm the world would truly be a better place.

With that said, I just can’t help but notice the huge disparity in promotion of breast cancer awareness versus all the other types of cancer.  It just seems like people view the act of wearing pink as the cool thing to do.  And let’s face it, everybody loves boobies, so it’s easy to jump on the bandwagon. But nine times out of ten it seems the meaning is lost.  There’s also a lot of peer pressure involved. Several events, often workplace oriented, have pink-out days where you are asked to wear pink to support breast cancer.  You can either put up with the charade, and don pink… or don’t wear pink (because you hate it and it’s awful) and people will label you an insensitive jackass.  Yet I’ve never seen a Colon Cancer t-shirt day (also known as a Brown-Out).  Where’s my NFL promo where Jim Nantz turns to Phil Simms and says, “Phil, the Broncos are really reaming the Giants today, which reminds me… it’s September, have you had your regular Colonoscopy?”

In many ways, breast cancer awareness has become more of a trend to support than a meaningful source of actual education and insight.

In contrast, for diseases like lung cancer we get this woman (who I’m certain they pulled out of the ground and animated with a robot) to attempt to speak through a hole in her neck about the perils of getting cancer from smoking. Isn’t that more of a scare tactic than an avenue of awareness? And no matter that Walter White had it and never smoked a cigarette, or those who suffer from inhalation of asbestos… for that we just get legal claim commercials from some shady lawyer, but no support/awareness on that front either.

I’m also never really sure where all this support money goes.  There is definitely a breast cancer awareness industry that is profiting from all this. If they raise as much money as they say they do, it really ought to be cured by now shouldn’t it?  Someone is getting paid off the countless t-shirts, ribbons, and buttons, before a sliver of it goes to Susan G. Komen or anywhere else for the actual research. In fact, that organization has been known to turn down monetary donations if it comes from a group that doesn’t share the same belief system…. a la “strippers.”  What?!  If strippers aren’t aware of their breasts, then I don’t know who is!  Say what you will about the morals of it, but it’s ludicrous to think that as much funding is needed for research for the cure that we so desperately seek, that stripper money doesn’t spend just like doctor money, teacher money, pizza boy money, couch cushion money, or any other money.  Are the diseases that plague us continuing to do so because we are being picky about who contributes the dollars?!

And then we have the ridiculousness of the so-called fund raising items.  Usually they have a tag that reads “10% of this sale goes to breast cancer research,” Ten percent?  Wouldn’t we better served just cutting a check directly to a foundation and eliminating the extra $20 for the shirt?  A recent article states that for every $100 of pink merchandise the NFL sells, only $3.54 goes towards cancer research (Rick Chandler).  There is a pretty good chance that there is some type of cancer related advertisement to the right of this article right now, but you can blame Google for that.  I also find it interesting when a fundraiser involves food.  Isn’t it always food that will kill you faster than the cancer will?  Double deep-fried chicken, greasy barbeque plates… oh they’re all delicious, and if we have to go, that’s a pretty good way to go… but I can’t help but note the irony.

The chart below lists the most common cancer cases in the past year.  Breast cancer accounts for over 17% of all new cases and about 10% of deaths.  These numbers are significant, there’s no glossing over that, but that leaves 83% of “other” cancer new cases and 90% of “other” cancer deaths.  I’m not suggesting we put breast cancer in a corner and forget about it, I’m just stating that 17% of the cancer on this list is getting about 95% of the bright pink awareness.

References:  American Cancer Society: Cancer Facts and Figures 2013. Atlanta, Ga: American Cancer Society, 2013

In closing, if you really want to support a person who is battling cancer, put down the paraphernalia and go to a cancer treatment facility with them.  Look around and see all the different types of cancer that affect people on a daily basis, and you’ll find out just how unaware most of us really are. Look into their eyes and listen to their stories, and you’ll soon find out that there’s so much more to fighting this bastard of a disease than wearing a pink t-shirt. Why can’t we promote the awareness of all the cancers, remove the one-month awareness, and just have regular reminders throughout the year to get yourself screened, scanned, scoped, smushed, scraped, and any other invasive word that starts with S.  Besides, October is for Halloween, dammit!  (And for watching the Braves lose in the playoffs.)  So let’s focus less on Pinktober and reserve the entire year for general everyday awareness and support.  Talk openly to your friends and family and go get yourselves checked out for all types of cancer.  Lastly, let’s make sure our donations go straight to those that need them, not those that stand to profit off them.

– Senior Editor

 Editor’s Note: For an additional viewpoint, please take the time to read this quote and blog from a woman currently battling breast cancer and her take on the pink obsession.  This blog came to our attention after writing the first draft of the article above.

We live in a society that makes a huge hoopla about breast cancer while at the very same time trivializing the seriousness of the disease. How can we be so contradictory?

While I am beyond thrilled that breast cancer is no longer a taboo issue and that people are talking about it, the commercialism has gotten out of hand. There is nothing pink and rosy about breast cancer, yet it has been pink-washed to death. It is a serious disease that kills.

And while I do think we need more awareness and education (about metastatic disease, about how young women CAN develop breast cancer, about how women (young and old) DO die from this disease, about the importance of research, etc.), I don’t think we need the kind of awareness that buying a jar of salsa with a pink ribbon on it brings. While I hardly ever see “awareness” products addressing the topics above, I can’t go anywhere without seeing pink products. Heck, I just have to look out of my front window to see giant pink garbage totes. The stores are filled with pink as companies try to make a buck off breast cancer. If you look carefully at these products, you’ll find that some of them don’t even donate a cent to breast cancer awareness, support, research, etc. And oftentimes those that do make a very minimal donation–and not always to organizations/programs where the money is well spent.

What is most unfortunate is that well-meaning people are willing to buy pink products, even pay a little extra, because they think they are helping to do something to “cure” breast cancer or to provide “hope” to breast cancer patients. Why is this sad? Because those dollars spent on pink flowers, pink shirts, or a pink box of crackers or spaghetti sauce could be going to research, our only real “hope” of beating this horrible disease.

So please put your bra back on, put down those pink garbage bags (unless you really like pink that much!), that pink “awareness” pepper spray keychain, and that pink breast cancer “awareness” vibrator and dildo (yes, I’m blushing and yes, these are real things that their merchandisers say will “help you raise breast cancer awareness” — though they are shipped discretely in plain, unmarked boxes so no one knows what you purchased) and send a few dollars to an organization that devotes their fundraising dollars to research.

– Cancer in My Thirties Blog