I’m sensing a bit of a backlash to the pink campaigns that hope to bring attention to the terrible disease of breast cancer, the second most common after lung cancer.
Will buying a pink t-shirt actually reduce the incidence of breast cancer?
Which organizations are actually contributing to the fight against breast cancer? And which organizations are turning a profit in these pink campaigns?
I’d like to follow the money.
… (the) “Think Before You Pink” campaign urges people to “do something besides shop.” After explaining that some “pink” sponsors are polluting industrial giants or spend more money on breast cancer-themed advertisements than they actually donate towards research or treatment, BCA asks consumers to reflect thoughtfully on questions like, “How much money was spent marketing the product?” or “What is the company doing to assure that its products are not contributing to the breast cancer epidemic?” This group has particularly excoriated major cosmetic companies such as Avon, Revlon, and Estée Lauder, which have claimed to promote women’s health while simultaneously using known and/or suspected cancer-causing chemicals, such as parabens and phthalates in their products. …
What if we used photos of women who have had mastectomies instead of pretty pink ribbons?
… Perhaps I’m being too cynical.
Leave a comment if you have a strong opinion this topic.
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6 comments ↓
Good post. I had a friend die of lung cancer (a nonsmoker in her 30’s) and only after that did I learn that lung cancer is actually more prevalent in women. If people want to help out, they should give directly to the organizations that fund research into finding a cure.
I agree with Dana
My biological mother died of Breast cancer, and thus I am considered high risk. I am very closely tracked by the docs, and I do give to breast cancer research etc, every chance I get. But I have often wondered about the ubiquitous campaigns for this we see nowadays. Good advice to think before we pink.
I believe in supporting the cause for sure but I must say I do often wonder where the money is going with some of the campaigns. After working closley with the Terry Fox Foundation in College I have to say I think they are the leaders in what they do! They actually had some bad things to say about a lot of the Breast Cancer campaigns which is sad to hear.
I don’t think you’re being too cynical at all. There are quite a few ways to fight cancer that don’t involve chemotherapy, but why make those public when people can make so much money on a disease that supposedly can never be cured? Doing a fair amount of research, I have contacted people who have had cancer and found alternative methods to treat it VERY successfully. But why market those when people can continue to make money saying there is no cure?
Yes, this is a subject that burns me to no end. Argh.
I think there’s also a real sense of “consumer fatigue” against pink, amongst many people, too.
I find ‘awareness’ in general to be pretty meaningless. Being aware of something doesn’t DO anything about it (whatever it might be), and the money that goes into making people generically aware of XYZ Issue (in this case, that goes into making and distributing the Pink Meme) can go into dealing with whatever instead.
Awareness only matters if people then grow beyond it(and this goes for ribbons of all descriptions, not just pink).
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