Whew, so glad that Pinktober is over. I have tried to stay away from retail for several reasons in October, pink Swiffers and vibrators being two of them.
Marie Claire has an article here from 2011 that speaks to my feelings. You know I am cynical by now. Buy pink if you like pink, but please don't do it thinking you are helping us, cause odds are that you are not, despite your best intentions. Please donate money for research to a charity you have researched and trust.
20% - 30% of us Stage 2's will have a recurrence within 10 years. 10 years from now, I am still not 50. My baby will be a senior in high school. Please skip Awareness, and move on to Research. The number of women and men dying from breast cancer hasn't improved much in the last 20 years.
Ann from "But Doctor I Hate Pink" has two great posts (ok, I could get lost for hours - and have - in her blog) about men and their nuts and the absurdity of Breast Cancer Awareness, and life from a metastatic point of view. Really, I am aware of breast cancer, and was long before I was diagnosed. And I gotta admit, I am still highly paranoid about mets. I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't. Chemo didn't kill me. Mastectomies didn't kill me. Radiation didn't kill me. Mets, now that could kill me.
Spend your money wisely, Folks. Do you want to know where I have found help? The American Cancer Society gave me a wig (hated it, but it was free) and a million or so hats, and some nice make-up. I haven't seen a thing from Komen. I love the idea of their walks and the sisterhood, but I can't pinpoint a single thing in the last 11 months to point directly back to them.
Soapbox now put away.
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