October is the month that you can find pink in a vast array of merchandise in every imaginable form. You find it in retail stores, on websites, the shoes of NFL football players, pink M & M’s, pink, pink and more pink. Some of the very products that slap the pink ribbon on their merchandise contain chemicals known to increase the risk and occurrence of breast cancer. A bit unsettling, right?
October vocabulary
Pinktober, Pinkaholic, Pink outs, Think Pink. I think breast cancer patients who have had it with the whole pink thing might even come up with a new slogan: Pink Stinks!
Don’t Forget the Guys and Be True to Blue!
We all read stories about what having breast cancer does to the men and women who are diagnosed. Yes, men! Don’t forget to wear blue for the guys! You can read this blog summary of a podcast I did with a strong male breast cancer patient advocate and his care giver. It’s no easier for them to have a body part removed and to be disfigured than it is for a woman. A diagnosis is a diagnosis. Surgery is surgery and a scar is a scar whether you are male or female.
Some Sobering Statistics
We are all entitled to our opinions. Yes, you are about to hear mine. Yes, I’ll share a couple of personal pictures, too, for some added impact. When I walk into a store with pink regalia I admit, I sometimes get a smirk on my face from the overload. I stop and think and do the numbers. According to the American Cancer Society’s statistics there will be 231,840 women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.
Let’s put that figure into perspective. That compares to an entire city the size of Buffalo, New York or Arlington, Virginia and folks who would be walking around with breast cancer. And that’s just the women. There will be about 2,350 new cases in men. There are some Fortune 500 companies with that number of employees. Imagine if they were all men and all walking around with breast cancer. It is sobering to look at the numbers that way.
Pink Warriors with a Cause
I think about those who deserve to wear pink proudly and be on the “pink team”. Those like healthcare professionals who work tireless hours to improve the lives of breast cancer patients. I know surgeons, oncologist and physician who wear pink and spend a good part of their adult, professional lives researching a cure. They are those who work with breast cancer patients to surgically remove the cancer or eradicate it from the patient’s body.
My New Ribbon and Wearing it Proudly
Pink ribbons have taken on an entirely new meaning for me this year. The third Wednesday of October is Breast Reconstruction Awareness Day in the United States. Let’s call it a new accessory to the breast cancer pink wardrobe. The loop at the bottom of the familiar pink breast cancer ribbon is a symbol of “closing the loop on breast cancer”. It symbolizes moving beyond the diagnosis and rebuilding the body parts lost to breast cancer by having breast reconstruction. I wear that ribbon proudly this year as a spokesperson and advocate educating women about their choices for breast reconstruction.
Do Your Pink Research
It is important to research causes and organizations whose funding goes directly to research for a cure and better treatment for breast cancer. I encourage you to think before you support marketing strategies of sponsoring companies whose best interest feels like the spotlight is on them and not the betterment of the breast cancer community. Who knew you’d have to research and do your homework to give to companies advertising that they “support” breast cancer? It is sad but true but I have friends ask me to recommend organizations that are “worthy” of donations.
The ask for any nonprofit organization must be done with respect of who you are serving, full transparency and a strong mission statement for donors. Myself, my board members, and advisory board all uphold this philosophy at DiepCFoundation.org. We provide education by letting our donors know how we do this and what the results of providing this are to the breast cancer community we serve.
Who is your favorite charity to donate to during October? I would love to hear from you and why you give to them.