Pinktober Revolution
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Cheesequake- yes! In my little town's PO they had these bc stamps on display. After I checked where the $$ went I bought the last sheet of the stamps they had. I was very proud of my little town for buying them up like that. It us a long-dead logging town and the average income is low compared to the national average. And the stamps cost more than a regular stamp. And still these people bought them out! Warmed my heart.
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I think we have a kindred spirit with this author.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/monica-stevenskirby/...
I had to get some posters and info for October's bulletin board at church. While doing my research (trying to find non-inane info), I found out that October is also Domestic Violence and Prevention month. Who knew? I can't remember ever hearing anything about it. I found a poster that asked people to wear a little purple (their color) with their pink. I also put an article on that talked about pinkwashing and included the questions to ask.
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Mini- very interesting article regarding these paragraphs:
"Another atrocious example of this conspiracy against identifying the obvious causes and cures for breast cancer is the National Breast Cancer Foundation's website.3
Type in "carcinogen" in their site wide search box and you will be rewarded with ZERO results. Not a single page addresses the role of carcinogenic chemicals in the development of breast cancer.
On Susan G. Komen's website, the search term "carcinogen" yields just one study on an antidepressant ingredient. The word is not even listed in the breast cancer glossary.
Meanwhile, researchers have identified a number of pervasive chemicals that increase your risk of breast cancer.
Avoiding toxic exposures is one of the rational approaches to successful breast cancer prevention, along with healthy lifestyle strategies such as eating real food, exercising, and optimizing your vitamin D levels.
By hiding the role that your lifestyle and exposure to carcinogenic chemicals play in the development of cancer, these massive organizations can continue to collect billions of dollars of donations every year in the name of "finding a cure.""
We already have talked about Komen, and BCRF. Though they are independent organizations, both of these charities, one decidedly better than the other according to charity navigator, (BCRF), both have insidious ties to the cosmetics industry, and certainly must fear losing funding if they "out" their major donors.
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November is Diabetes Awareness Month. The color is red, but no ribbon. Was in a store today, was plastered with Wallk for Awareness posters. For research, blah blah.
I'm type 2. Why doesn't this bother me nearly as much as pink washing? We need a cure for D too, it can kill you.
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Yes, there are many other causes that share October as awareness month with bc. A quick Google brings this up:
October
- National Breast Cancer Awareness
- National Down Syndrome Awareness Month
- Eye Injury Prevention Month
- Health Literacy Month
- Healthy Lung Month
- Home Eye Safety Month
- National Physical Therapy Month
- SIDS Awareness Month
- Spina Bifida Awareness Month (promoted by the Spina Bifida Association)
- Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month
- Domestic Violence Awareness Mont
- Mental Illness Awareness Week (first full week of October)
- Bone and Joint Health National Awareness Week (12-20)
- National Health Education Week (third full week of October)
- International Infection Prevention Week (third full week of October)
- Respiratory Care Week (last full week of October)
- Red Ribbon Week (last week of October)
- World Mental Health Day (10)
- Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day (15)
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Because it's harder to come up with an obnoxious slogan for Diabetes awareness month? Because it's not so ubiquitous?
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I guess Queenly. It's not so fun to poke fun at a person missing a leg, or blind, or on dialysis
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seen on Huffington Post article tonight about braless day.
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A follow-up on my Oct 11 post re; Pink Ribbon Produce and local store
All, since that post I had played phone tag with Molly from Pink Ribbon Produce, leaving bits of messages and comments back and forth—mostly me asking questions about the inappropriate suggested tweets on the site. When I finally spoke with her, she was very open and was also very apologetic for the "insensitivity" of the tweetforboobs hashtag. She said that "a few letters" (GO Divine, Katy, Sula, and others!!! You guys did it!!) drew her attention to the tweets, and offensive nature of the slogan in general, so as you all know, it was removed!! WooHoo!!
The local Harris Teeter store managers, OTOH, represented a classic picture of confusion, amusement, apathy, and a lost in hierarchy-thank god, because the buck doesn't end anywhere close to me-attitude. And I had a blazing headache so unfortunately was not about to try and improve the meeting with assertive communication skills. Yup, just wanted to get out of those bright lights and go home. Which I did.
Anyway, on the phone with Molly, I asked her how it (the tweets) got started and was told that the campaign began about 9 years ago, and the tweets used were ones that were generated in 2013—before her time with this company-but she doesn't think they were used until this year. "I'm not really sure how or why they surfaced this year, but I am very sorry that they were offensive and insensitive." She said the campaign was tied with "in store marketing," and talked about the promotion of healthy eating.
I shared that I was a longtime health-food consumer with estrogen positive breast cancer, and I'm concerned when marketing makes broad statements about healthy lifestyles, supplements, and food, and jumps on the coat-strings of specific (money-making) bandwagons such as breast cancer-especially when some of the foods and supplements may actually have the potential to fuel some types of cancer. Think I gave an estimate of 1/4 to 2/3 of all breast cancers have er-positive receptors, and those receptors may have the potential to be activated by the phytoestrogens from products such as soy and flaxseed supplements...and while I appreciated Pink Produce campaign's efforts to connect healthier eating habits with cancer/diseases in general, I nevertheless got on my soapbox about the rampant naivety of pinning a pink ribbon on your shirt or water bottle and waving corsages of organic kale to show that as pink healthy eater, you are protecting yourself from breast cancer. I also threw in the 1 in 8 women statistic. Oh, I might have also been a tiny bit preachy and mentioned my concern that the party atmosphere with pink balloons and free giveaways may encourage kids to aspire to have breast cancer, like boys who want to drink beer because they will have a nice car and pretty girls, or kids who want to buy tampons because they can then go swimming and horsebackriding. (yeah, one leads to a disconnect—and the minimization of cancer or alcohol, while the other is a amusing story, but the gist is the wrong message that's being perceived by a new generation).
Sorry this is so long!! I'll finish up: we briefly acknowledged the marketing factors, but she asked me to email her some links that they might add on the PinkProduct site to educate (qualify?) people regarding potential contraindications of produce and breast cancer. She did however, mention that the links need to get reviewed/approved by "marketing" and may not make it on time for this year's annual Pinktober (no, she didn't say it) festive marketing ploy.
Anyhow, I got the sense that Molly was not just placating me with diplomatic assurances—-I really think she trying hard to be accountable and wants to do the right thing.
Re; phytoestrogens, I was thinking of sending a few links from Stanford and Harvard and BCO—there is also an elementary explanation with basic visual aids (animation!) from Tulane University which might be helpful.
The first is general info that illustrates the ambiguity of the role of endocrine receptions only because of how little we know about BC and research for a cure (I think a 1-paragraph summary's from a well-known "expert' site like Dana-Farber might have a better change of being reviewed by the marketing dept).
http://e.hormone.tulane.edu/learning/phytoestrogens.html#top
Below, is the one with animation on how phytoestrogens may confuse the endocrine system. I thought it was cute, but then again, I am a geek.
http://e.hormone.tulane.edu/learning/docking-recep...
What do you guys think? Any suggestions? And certainly send her links things on your own. Except for the Tulane link—which may be copyrighted—I probably won't have time to filter through stuff until this weekend.
Congratulations and thank you to those who emailed her—-this is a happy and I think SIGNIFICANT example of how a very small grassroots effort can affect SIGNIFICANT change!
--Sweetmamaj
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nobody sexualizes diabetes....or any other disease... Seems like bc is the only one, just our luc
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Janet haven't heard from you. You had valid questions to be answered. I said have some fun. But that may have been interpreted differently because of origin of thought. I've done research since the 70's. I learned early to call those I researched. I was involved in the development of EMS that I'm now listed in the "Honor Roll" of contributor's. It all started with a phone call in 1980.
My suggestion on the phone call was not to be disrespectful, the call is very respectful, but we wish answers. In the link to the list thread, It teaches how to access a company. They're are a few company's/ foundations that are accessed and evaluated. Initially I thought I would do one a week. It was very time consuming and very few looked at the work. This is the info link in the topic box
edit10/9/2012:Topic: List Organizations:That fund research&help Patients directly
https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/110/topic/794711?page=1
The fantastic women here this season and Traveltext have done great work. The energy is high. You by a phone call can create change.
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The positive and thoughtful actions of the many people on this post, and other BCO posts, makes me think change is on the way for the pink washing industry. These are also empowering, fun and worthwhile actions that give lots of self-satisfaction. And there's two more weeks to go!
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Chicago Tribune has huge coverage of Pinktober and this single article that implies all of those who object to the pink are Stage IV patients. Which, we all know, is not the case.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/columnist...
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DivineM: I'll take Spina Bifida awareness, please--diagnosed with s.b. Occulta last year.
Rainny: sigh. The people who're Stage !V may be the most vocal....but....
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The Tribune article could be worse, but yeah, it doesn't reflect my reality. Actually, it was my sister, who also had breast cancer, who made me aware several years ago of all the reasons to hate pink, so I hated it even before I got it, but now I hate it even more. The aspect that my sister never mentioned, that I really hate, is the sexualization, which isn't even mentioned in the article, not surprisingly. Thinking of a letter to the editor.....
Octogirl
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My daughter's soccer team has been wearing pink soccer jerseys this month. The parents emailed me and said they took a collection up for Breast Cancer Awareness month and want to donate somewhere in honor of me and my fight. The asked me where I want the donation to go. I know their hearts are all the right place and I want the money to go to research for a cure. I have been searching the threads and I am having trouble determining the best place to send the money so it goes for research.
If it was you, where would you have them send the money?
Thanks!
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Donate to this site. breastcancer.org. Or go to charitynavigator.com and find a 4 star BC research group to donate to.
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Mel, how nice they raised money in your honor. How smart of you to make an informed decision on sending it towards research. I tried inserting a link to Charity Navigator where they rate these type organizations, but for some reason, it won't link to that page. But if you google:
Charity Navigator Charities Working to Prevent and Cure Breast Cancer
you will find a link to some good information.
Breast Cancer Research Foundation, our own Breastcancer.org and National Breast Cancer Foundation Inc. all receive four star ratings from Charity Navigator. And there are others with four stars. I would also consider donating to Metavivor.org. which gives 100% of its donations towards research. Hope this helps. Good luck on your choice. And a big thank you to the young ladies who raised the money
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I checked the JC Penney website. Here's the last paragraph on the page about BC donations.
"Since 2012, JCPenney, together with its customers, has donated over $6.4 million for breast cancer awareness, benefiting organizations such as Breast Cancer Research Foundation, National Breast Cancer Foundation and Susan G. Komen."I still should probably call them about their employees not knowing where the money goes and about the fact that SGK does not have a good rating on Charity Navigator. Not sure if I'll get that done though...
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Janett, if you make the call, consider making it specifically to the store where you were asked for a donation. I think it might be more effective. Speak to the manager, letting them know you were diagnosed with bc. Say that the sales clerk was recruiting for donations but didn't know where the donations were going. Let them know you aren't trying to get her in trouble, but you think that all the clerks should be knowledgeable about where the money they are fundraising for is going. And let the manager know that you belong to an online breast cancer discussion group and we are seeking greater transparency of donations taken in the name of bc awareness and are pressing for targeted actions so that donations go towards a cure and to specifically help those with bc, and not just a vague idea of awareness. One shouldn't have to search a website for the info, the employees should be trained correctly to know he answers.
The local manager won't have control over giving part of donations to Komen, and that might be a battle left for another day. But you could educate one person about donating and perhaps that could trickle down to those who work for him/her.0 -
Thanks everyone for the insight. I gave them a few options all which I think are great.
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travel text. I've seen the influence of your story here, downunder, well done. You are are making such a difference and I hope you know that in your heart.
Oh what the heck, even though I don't know you personally I'm sending you a 
This whole narrative is so depressing though. I shared my views on the subject on a radio thread....... won't name the station or country....(it wasn't Australian though) . That station sought our views on a "show your strap" campaign being run by a major retailer......truly hideous on the part of that retailer. Sexy, silken clad gals showing their bra straps to raise awareness of breast cancer. Sorry, I just think it misses the point. Breast cancer is a brutal diagnosis no matter what the stage, and you just hope it dosent get worse. Sexy bra straps are the last thing you end up being aware of...or can care about.
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Jac, it is easy to get discouraged by those who don't get it. But that's just it. They don't understand. We can still stand our ground. We know that the bra straps will do nothing towards a cure. I still think explaining how we advocate for a cure and not simply awareness to those who are open to the idea is how this change will happen, is happening. We also have to be firm about action vs. inaction, and awareness represents inaction. Women should not accept a passive role in this. Also, I notice it's often men who push the bra thing, the ta ta language and think they got it all figured out. They make a joke of a serious subject. Women must not allow men to overrule the issue by sexualizing it.
Not everyone will understand and I accept that. But the fact is, breast cancer is a serious, harsh, devastating disease that is fatalfor some women. They can't argue with that.
And for the record, I don't have issues with jokes about boobs but I do have issues with trying to turn breast cancer into something humorous. There's a difference. I think it's about respect.
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Thanks Jac. Several of us male BCers have started contacting cancer groups asking them to consider placing a blue dot on the ribbon. Will keep you posted.
Divine. I must say I'm seeing pink everywhere, and when yesterday I saw an exposed pink bra strap, I thought surely that's not for the "cause". Obviously it is!
Queenmomcat. I looked further into the Brakes for Breasts fundraiser: http://www.brakesforbreasts.com/information-about-...
It looks like the money raised is going straight to Dr. Touhy, an immunologist at the Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute. Dr. Touhy is working on a vaccine for BC. This seems like a good model for raising funds in that the money goes straight to a useful cause and is not filtered through a top-heavy organisation.
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Travel: thank you! I'm still a bit new to this evaluating fund raising. At the very least, I was willing to appreciate it for the fact that it involves something NOT pink, frilly-froufrou and ephemeral. Well, brakes don't last forever, but better than pink bouquets of flowers or pink marshmallow-flavored popcorn, though at least the latter does involve a donation to a legitimate and purely local cancer group.(considering asking the grocery store if I can just donate a dollar to the fundraising effort and bypass the popcorn.)
And I could probably use a set of brakes.
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Yes, donate here. I'm on the Charity Buzz with BCO and just bid this weekend on Dr Phil. Now, none of you better go after him...
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Bingo? Too bad those of us with ER+ cancers can’t do a drinking game instead!!
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Hello
I recently places an order with Amazon and found that .5% of my purchase amount could be donated to a charity or organization of my choice.
BCO WAS ON THEIR LIST.
Thought I'd pass that information on. I know .5% is not a whole lot, but it could be a lot if all Amazon shoppers picked BCO. I think it was called"Amazon Smiles". BCO was way down on the list, maybe page 3, but it's there.
dsgirl
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Dsgirl, thanks for the tip. This is huge! I would have never thought of looking for BCO there without your tip, but I do a lot of shopping on Amazon in the winter and so do a lot of my neighbors (I live in a high-rise in Chicago). You've given me a great idea to recommend to those who want to help.
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