Reposted because they're still doing it!!!!
I love the month of October in general--the crisp air, the colorful leaves, the uplifting sense of change. But I hate walking into a supermarket and seeing PINK ribbons everywhere--not only the ribbons marketed for display on everything from automobiles to people, but their perky little "Find a Cure" images plastered on food packaging, for goodness' sake! Even the familiar tomato soup can has turned PINK--Andy Warhol must be rolling in his grave!
It's not that I have a problem with "finding a cure"; it's just more to the point to find out what causes breast cancer, and why this horrible disease is increasing in frequency in our population. So why is so much work focused on treating this condition, rather than preventing it?
For one thing, treatment is easier (notice that I don't say cure; metastatic breast cancer, at least is presently incurable). The disease is right there in front of everybody. Finding causal factors in genetics, the outdoor and indoor environments, food, etc., is a lot harder, costs a great deal of money, and has potential political implications.
Furthermore, breast cancer is a very profitable disase to treat, and patients survive a long time, even with Stage 4 / terminal disease like mine, compared with other cancers. During that time, breast cancer patients may receive one or multiple courses of very expensive chemotherapy and other treatments. My original chemo cost many thousands of dollars, and my ongoing treatments are several thousands for every month I stay alive. Pharmaceutical companies continue to research new treatments for breast cancer because this disease assures a good return on their investment. They are in business--can you blame them?
Still, it seems to me that we should be focusing culturally as well as economically on finding the causal factors for breast cancer, so that we can reduce or eliminate them. This disease is removing so many women from the workforce, their communities, and their families, at the very prime of life. Why aren't we doing more?
So to me those little pink ribbons aren't an inspiration; they're an irritant. Two years ago, I composed and recorded this parody to express my take on October; it's called "I Hate Pink!".
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You're not alone in hating pink. Where did I just see a long piece on that? I think in a magazine I just donated somewhere. It was written by a woman with cancer and she especially hates pink teddy bears. Maybe the author of Nickled and Dimed whose name I dare not attempt.
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