Buckle up ladies, Puketober is upon us
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To all who have commented… right on! Although grateful for the attention the pink fluff has drawn to bc, it has sexualized and infantilized the disease as well. It has marginalized men and worst of all, IMO, made people believe that bc is curable if we are aware and “catch” it early. I have lost count of how many people have said to me , “No one dies of breast cancer anymore.” Grrr…
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I think the pink campaign brought discussion of breast cancer out in the open, not just whispers - which was good at the time. It's too bad it stopped with the "happy, happy - if you catch it early you'll be cured" attitude and stayed silent on the reality of MBC.
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I got so frustrated with all the ads with incorrect information on FB. The best one was for a shirt get a mammogram to prevent breast cancer. I commented on that one. I also wrote a post on my FB page. I think I got two reactions to it. I feel like this is one more way that convinces people cancer is no big deal.
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Wow, yes, and TOTALLY AGREE!
Men get (often) totally ignored. I read a book called "Off Our Chests" written by an oncologist who treated colo-rectal cancer whose wife gets breast cancer. He talks about "the cancer no one wants to talk about." Where's the ribbon for that one? I was waiting in a long line at Joann to buy some yarn the other day. About 10 people were in front of me and I got to hear each one asked if they wanted to round up their purchase to support (or whatever the word was) breast cancer awareness. When it was my turn, I replied (hopefully kindly) that I had already donated and that I had Stage IV breast cancer.
I, too, hate the rah-rah-rah thing with breast cancer. It's not cute, it's not sexy, and yes, we are still dying from this disease. And don't get me started on "losing the battle." We aren't the losers, anymore that a gunshot victim loses his fight against a bullet.
OK, rant over - for now. I wish each of you ladies and gentlemen a peaceful month.
Carol
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Agree with all that everyone is saying above - especially about the marginalization (and that's an understatement) of men. The public really needs to hear about the realities of this disease and not all the fluff and relatively rare stories about the "exceptions to the rule" who defy the odds. They need to hear the realities of these drugs; how miserable they can make you, and how most of them don't really work in the long run. Love Sunshine's comment about how we are no more "losers" in our "battle" than the victim of a gunshot is a "loser" against a "fight" with a bullet wound.
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So .. found a facebook post by a local hospital .. 'yes cancer is ugly but the pink ribbon is a sign of hope and awareness .. etc" then pictures of more pink then anyone could ever imagine seeing, pink decorated junk food etc. The pictures of women saying things like "I was positive, I thought of it as an adventure, not for one minute did I think I could die".
I left an angry emoticon and said, It is not an adventure, and you absolutely can die".
They just never get it do they?
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rubyredslippers, right on! Maybe moving with a U-Haul van is an adventure (as their trucks used to advertise) but cancer is NOT an adventure. It's a friggin' nightmare!
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Yeah, I mean where is all the hoopla for prostate cancer? How come there aren’t a lot of guys wearing goofy whatever’s and lotta goofy slogans and memes about getting checked for prostate cancer? Somehow dealing with women’s breast cancer issues on a public level seems to have taken on a flippant attitude, even a lighthearted one that sometimes seems looks a celebration similar to Mardi Gras. It feels like the seriousness of the disease is trivialized for the sake of making the breast cancer and it treatments more palatable to the masses.
Plus, just because you didn’t think for a minute you would die doesn’t mean that it can’t happen! Like is that woman trying to claim that all it takes is a friggin positive attitude to “beat breast cancer?” That somehow if you didn’t beat it, you didn’t have the right positive attitude?
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