Pinktober Revolution
Comments
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here's the four questions from the Akron Beacon Journal as stated by Glassock. Questions are good, but if you wander on Komen's site. Little can be found about the 173 million on education and awareness spending. The 64(?) million on research and grants is very well defined. I realize now I didn't look at the monies allotted for direct help. It's paltry compared to the 173mill.
Here are Komen suggestions for judging a pink campaign:
—Read product packaging, promotional materials or go to the company website to evaluate credibility of the campaign.
—Is it clear how much money will go to the cause?
—Is the charity well-managed and reputable? The website should be clear on organization structure and how funds are used.
—Will the dollars go to research, education, community programs or all of them?
—Does the program support a cause you want to support?0 -
I, for one, have never felt "ashamed" for developing breast cancer. Terrified, angry, frustrated, upset, worried, sad, but never ashamed. And I'm getting pretty darned tired of institutions like Komen telling me how I should be feeling (or not) about having breast cancer, and how I should be expressing those feelings. Just sayin'.
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Selena , their marketing is off timing. Prior till the 1990's people were ashamed about cancers that had any thing to do with "private parts". Breast, colon, vulva, believe it or not bladder, prostate, butt. People now say penis all the time. Not sure when the penis thing changed
Woman generally can't say vulva. It usually is referred to as "down there" "Who-hoo". I recently had to have a vulva bx, people were uncomfortable with the use of the word .
Think of those stupid monistat commercial. Where the girl shuffles foot to foot as says something like You know when you have an itch(pause) down there. I choked the first time I saw it. They improved it a bit, but IMO not much.0 -
Selena, I am like you that I don't feel ashamed that I developed breast cancer. I do not see wearing pink or the ribbon as a badge of honor. I did not choose to get breast cancer, it chose me. I gag when I see Komen mentioned. When I was first diagnosed, one of my girls said to her sister, "let's do a Komen run." I immediately told them no that they needed to do their research and that it would be an eye opener. I suggested that the two of them give to a foundation in our area that helps women with co-pays, transportation costs, biopsies, hospital bills, you name it anything related to their breast cancer because just about all of the monies collected go to that. No salaries are taken. Looks like their only cost would be for mailing materials. The sad thing is that there are years when not enough money is received and they have to wait until they get enough. I was even put off by a national department's store web site about mastectomy bras and forms. If I wasn't so thick skinned, I would have been wondering what was wrong with me for not feeling any less a woman for not having something on my chest. I live flat as I never felt my breasts defined me as a woman. Sorry for the rant. I guess this belongs on the flat chested thread as well.0 -
Agree with sas that the "ashamed" business is from another time. When my mom was dx with Stage IV BC in the 70's, cancer still wasn't something polite people talked about, and especially cancer involving body parts associated with sex. There was a vague stigma about cancer then, like it was something that only dirty people got. Looking back at what my mom when through in the 2 years between her dx and death, I can't imagine the isolation and loneliness she must have felt. She had my dad and me to support her of course, but her friends pretty much dropped off the planet. I was only 24 then, so I really didn't get what she must have gone through emotionally. I wish she'd had something like BCO, or even a local support group. So, yes, "awareness" was needed then so the people could learn to talk about BC openly and seek the support they need. But that was almost 40 years ago - we're past that need for simple "awareness" now.
I really don't have problems with people doing pink stuff when they're not making a buck off it - like the pink White House or pink firetrucks or people wearing pink ribbons - they're just trying to show support. But when companies invoke BC and pink to sell something, then I get irritated.
No word from RRS yet.0 -
PDGraham and Beatmom attended the "Scar project in Houston or Dallas. Asked them to post their observations. Hope the do.
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Finally - some GOOD news - our local TV news anchor (and a BC survivor) just posted this great story on her Facebook page.
It's Friday night football, and one of the local high school teams decided that rather than spend a bunch of money on useless pink socks and pink shoelaces for "Awareness", they donated the cash (a generous amount, I might add...) to a local organization that provides direct services to newly diagnosed women, and women going through treatment.
They said it was their coach's wife's idea. She ROCKS!
Now, if only more teams would get on board....0 -
Blessings YAY. Maybe they could publish , of course without names, how the money was spent? AND do it so it pulls at heartstrings. X$ went to a woman who couldn't pay her morgagte. x$ went to x #woman for a total of x$ to help pay deductibles. etc. Congratualations.0 -
I am going to have my son find out where the $$ from their high school "Pink Out" foot ball game went. They to said it was for awareness, so I am curious who got it and how much they got. If I find out I will report back.0 -
Blessings, I'm glad to hear someone had sense about not pinking and directly putting the money to where it would do the most good.0 -
Kathy, three good organizations are Mother's Grace. All MG's monies do directly for patient assistance. StandU 2CANCER, Functions done under the marketing machine of Though Enough To Wear Pink.-TETWP. BCRF has a huge amount of money going for research, but you can read my concern on the organizations link.
http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/110/topic/794711?page=1#idx_290 -
Sas, those are great organizations. I do feel committed to the local one here in the DC area because it is such a bare bones foundation with just about every penny going to women who need financial help in all areas of their treatment. Their form 990 was such as eye opener as to how much is given away. Plus, one of the founding members was my radiologist who did my initial biopsy. She actually got my entire tumor during the biopsy which she also managed to do with my GYN's wife as well.0 -
please check this out ladies,
http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/16/topic/813662?page=1#post_37577440 -
Kathy, if you'd like to give it a try to use BCA's questions, then post the results on the organizations page. May be it'll bring in some donations. I see that thread as someplace members can go and review organizations that have been objectively evaluated. Look at Mother's Grace. Very small foundation that sounds like it does much the same as your local organization. There is no limit as to what organization you look at. The questions are a help to focus on the need to know. Read the thread header again. Maybe I need to revise it, to make it clearer. Feel free to offer advice :)sassy
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Well, it's over for Tampa. The last Komen 3 day, 60 mile walk finished yesterday. They won't be here any more. It raised 2.2 mil, down from 2.5 mil last year. You must raise $2,300 just to participate. Source Tampa Bay Times.
Can't say I'm real sorry.0 -
3 more days ..... then it will be over for another year.
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YEAH!!!!!0 -
Pink is a color - not a cure
Pink is a sissy-ass color - not what you need to fight cancer
It's not Pink - It's CANCER
Screw your Mylar balloons.. a balloon is not a treatment
Pink isn't a treatment0 -
Ziggypop, I laughed at your posting, not in a negative way, but just the fact that you really nailed it!!! Thanks!!!
2 more days and counting .....0 -
In 25 hours it will no longer be Pinktober in California!!!! WOOT!!!
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We're almost there ladies! Is it me or was there less pinking this year? I didn't get the sensory overload like in years past.0 -
Definately less pink here!
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I didn't see near as much here either!
Happy Halloween
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I saw less "pinking" here too but that might be because I didn't shop much or watch any morning TV shows - that is where most of the pinking occurs IMHO.
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I saw less pink and more of the advertising mentioned 'awareness' 'research' and less 'cure'....so some of it seemed to have a more sensible tone than previously.
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ITS OVER!!!!!!!0 -
Yea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!0 -
I saw a lot less in my area. Maybe I was more sensitive to it last year having only been done with rads for a couple of months when it started, I don't know, but I do think that the message is getting out. I think it should be cancer awareness, period. There are a lot of cancers out there that receive little or no attention. They are just as sick and in need as we are. I still say that if 99% of men got BC you would not see the stupid crap out there that we have to see. But because it involves breasts, it's all about the ta-ta's, boobies, etc. I also think that all the pinkwashing is akin to the effect of car alarms. When you hear one, do you ever jump up and look for a car thief? No. You ignore it, and if it happens enough, you get PO'd and eventually you stop even hearing it. It might get someone's attention in certain situations, but for the most part, it is ineffective and often has a negative effect rather than a positive one as was intended.0 -
Mini, missed you glad your back and giving them hell
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I am indeed Sas. :-) Did you see the article on the PA schools that banned the wearing of pink "awareness" bracelets that say "I heart boobies?" I don't know what honks me off worse, the fact that it's about loving the "boobies," as opposed to, oh I don't know, SAVING MY LIFE, or that they were banned because they were considered sexual. Some days I'd like to stand these idiots in a line and slap them down like dominoes.0
