It was a curious moment, coming around the corner in a department store and seeing the collection of mannequins decked out in pink.I had my final treatment at the end of August and reconstructive surgery a week later. I spent much of September making progress on my Netflix list, and re-emerged into society just as the pink onslaught that is Breast Cancer Awareness Month was getting underway.
I had to force myself to stop and look. The thing about pink and breast cancer awareness is that it’s so ubiquitous that it’s easy to overlook. And I still sometimes have to remind myself that all of this actually happened to me. So when I pass the pink display, I have to tell myself “Yes, dumbass, that’s you.” The first time I stopped and stared at it, trying to figure out what feelings I had. Mostly, I had questions. Do these products actually support any breast cancer organizations? How much do those organizations get from each purchase? Do they support research for treatments, help improve access to treatment, or just more “awareness.”
Most breast cancer patients and survivors that I’ve met have, at best, an ambivalent reaction to the pink and other awareness efforts. Some truly hate it. Some don’t want to see reminders of their disease plastered everywhere. Others feel exploited by commercial products that rake in millions of dollars while only contributing marginal amounts of money to actual research if they contribute anything at all. Some just plain don’t like the color. I’ve only met a few who truly embrace it.
Personally, I find most awareness campaigns to be frustrating. The overall tenor paints a, ahem, rosy picture of breast cancer. Just get a mammogram, and that will prevent cancer, and even if you do get it, you’ll get over it really quickly and hey, you’ll look adorable in that pink headscarf! Well-meaning people post cryptic messages about their bra color and the truly clueless post photos of their cleavage or even bare breasts online in the name of breast cancer awareness. Last October, as chemo for my breast cancer made my hair fall out and made me too weak to pick up my child, I mostly just felt confused and angry. I was relieved when No-Shave Movember started and some of the scrutiny passed.
Most frustrating to me is the idea that breast cancer is the easy cancer, and that it’s a problem that’s been solved. The actual reality of breast cancer is something that most people are totally unaware of. If this is you, this isn’t your fault. It’s just the way things are. In light of that, I’d like to present some information that is often overlooked, and in some cases outright ignored.
Are you aware that more than 40,000 people in the U.S., mostly women, are expected to die this year of metastatic breast cancer? Are you aware that number is only marginally down from the 46,000 who died 20 years ago.For all of the pink yogurt and pink office printer paper and pink fracking equipment that you’re buying, the actual number of deaths hasn’t budged since the mid-1990s.
Are you aware that metastatic breast cancer receives just 2 percent of the research funding that’s floating around out there? No? Neither was I. This is even more disturbing when you account for the fact that most breast cancer donation dollars don’t go to research at all. So researching treatments and cures for the type of breast cancer that actually kills you is a small fraction of a small fraction. Awareness and screening and outreach aren’t entirely bad, but we’ve had a few decades of it and we have barely improved on deaths from breast cancer. Research has the potential to save lives. Let’s try putting money there.
Are you aware that breast cancer affects a lot more than just your breasts? I was totally unaware of this. I knew you didn’t want the breast cancer to spread to other parts of your body, but I thought breasts themselves just weren’t that big a deal. Boy, was I wrong. Breast cancer and its treatment has serious implications for the rest of your health. The drugs I was on put me at a much higher risk for heart disease. The hormonal nature of my cancer has serious implications for my reproductive system, mainly that I needed to shut it down, forcing me into artificial menopause at 37 that may or may not be permanent. So saving people from breast cancer isn’t saving the ta-tas. It’s saving the hearts and the brains and the ovaries and saving people’s dreams of having children and saving women in their 30s from aging 10 or 20 years ahead of our time.
Are you aware that mammograms don’t prevent breast cancer? This is one where the semantics really get to me, and lots of celebrities can be found hawking the particular line that early detection equals prevention. A mammogram is a screening tool to help medical professionals see whether there are any areas of concern in the breast. It doesn’t keep you from getting cancer. It’s a good tool, and we do need to improve access and affordability (it cost me a few grand to get diagnosed with cancer, even with good insurance), but it doesn’t prevent cancer.
Are you aware that African-American women are far more likely to die of breast cancer than white women are? In fact, the survival disparity between white women and African-American women has actually gotten bigger than it was a few decades ago.
Are you aware that even with a mastectomy, breast cancer can recur?
Are you aware that being young is not a bonus when it comes to breast cancer? Lots of people told me “Oh, you’re young, so you’ll have no problem getting over this.” And this is true of most health concerns. A younger person’s body can replenish itself more quickly than an older person’s can, but this tendency works against you when your body is making cancer. And among women under 60, breast cancer has the highest mortality rate out of all cancer.
Are you aware that men get breast cancer, too? Men make up a tiny portion of the breast cancer cases diagnosed each year, but they are more likely to be diagnosed at a later, and deadlier stage.
All of this is just the tip of a much larger iceberg, but I’ll stop here for now. Just digest this information, and think about it next time you pass the pink display in the store. There’s nothing wrong with buying the product, but understand where those dollars are going may or may not be saving lives..
living thru 