The 'think pink' message has been overdone. It's everywhere and I'm not sure how effective the message is any longer. I've read several articles like the one you linked that have said the same thing- there's no guarantee that any money goes to breast cancer causes. I wish the manufacturer would be required to state right on the package that ___% of the retail price or a specific dollar amount goes to charity. That's one of the reasons I do not purchase any of those products. Personally I couldn't imagine having a pink Kitchen Aide mixer on my counter or even pink measuring cups etc. I usually give directly to the causes I support and eliminate the middleman.

Excellent point about eliminating the middleman. FWIW, I don't make it a point to buy products simply because they're emblazoned with a pink ribbon, but I do know some women who do buy those products over others, given a choice. They do feel they're helping to "contribute."

Personally, I find Dannon's "Save Lids to Save a Life" campaign to be a bit ridiculous. I'm not about to save the foil lids that I've licked (um, gross?) and spend money on a large envelope and postage in order to send them back to Dannon, so that they in turn can donate 10 cents per lid to Komen. Just make the donation without requiring consumers to jump through hoops of pointlessness ...

I saw an article on it also, and feel the same way. It's overdone. I do have a pink W-S rubber spatula that was given to me as a gift which I think is really cute. But I'm like mc, no way do I want a pink appliance. All it would remind me of is breast cancer, my biggest fear.

I have one charity I donate to every year, and it will be me contacting them, not vice versa.

Even our local grocery store is selling pink bags to put our groceries in!

I wonder why I don't see this all around. Occassionally, I've seen the pink ribbon and it did act as a gentle reminder, which I noted as a good thing at the time. Once those type of things saturate the market, I either tune out or get so sick of it that I'm totally missing the message!

I'll read your article Jenn, when I have a bit more time.

I have to say though, I associate pink with the campaign to promote awareness of breast cancer. I also associate it with breast cancer survivors and see many of them sporting the pink emblem.

To me, it's not overdone but I do not like the idea of the money not going where people are intending it to go. I have several causes I support, but I want to know that my money is going where I want it to go.

We'll see alot of pink this month because it's breast cancer awareness month. Hopefully, this will remind women to have their mammograms.

tina

I see so much of the pink it has made me wonder in the past how much goes to where it should go? I'll check out the article later tonight!

I work in an elementary school and we celebrate eveeryone's birthdays by having a celebration once a month on a designated day. We celebrate that month's staff birthdays and everyone contributes either an appetizer, main course, dessert or beverage. Since it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, our theme for October is "pink". We are asking everyone to bring a goodie and we'll have a donation jar in the faculty-staff lounge set up and all the proceeds will go to the Susan G. Komen's Race for the Cure in NYC. One of our teachers has a friend who is raising $$ and we'll donate our proceeds to her for the cause. We know that 100% of our donations are going directly to this cause.

October is breast cancer awareness month, so get used to it. If you want to do something to help fight breast cancer, enroll in the Army of Women. It seeks to expand breast cancer research by enrolling women so that when a research project needs volunteers, they have a volunteer base of women who can be contacted and asked if they want to participate.

I have been a member for the past year. I've been contacted about a dozen times, but never met the criteria to participate in a research study.

Here is a link that might be useful: Army of Women

October is breast cancer awareness month, so get used to it.

Yep, I do know that.

I also want to point out that "Sick of Pink" - the subject of this thread - is actually the title of the article I linked to, so NOT necessarily my own thoughts on the subject!
(OK, so that's my disclaimer. :-))

Interesting article; I think the awareness level is very high for breast cancer,
yet not so high for other cancers who are also very widespread.

I have no problem with a manufacturer making profits as well as making a hefty donation to the cause; it has to be a win/win situation for people to jump on the bandwagon and obviously it works.

It would be hard to monitor every product and every donation level, it's a shame some might abuse the system but if breast cancer is getting millions
for research, while other cancers get much less because awareness is not marketed like the "think pink" campaigns, the objective is met.

Add me to those who'd prefer to donate directly and do without the marketing ploy. Something else I'd not considered before is the reaction of those whose cancer has spread and who know they won't be around to wear those pink ribbons for much longer. There was an opinion piece by a local newspaper columnist last week on that aspect; her cancer had already progressed too far by the time she found a doctor who would do the appropriate tests. Her first doctor told her to never mind. She mentioned that she and a friend who's in the same boat feel rather abandoned by groups who appear to prefer that such negative outcomes not be recognized.

I'm sick of it to - will have to read the article. We donate directly (having breast cancer survivors and non-survivors on both sides of my family).

I'll post my good news here - my aunt had her lumpectomy/biopsy on Tuesday, they took a few lymph nodes, one had "teeny tiny suspicious spot" according to the surgeon, won't know til biopsy results come back, but he thinks worst case they'll go take some more lymph nodes out. She has to go back to GYN to get biopsy results and treatment plan now.

She mentioned that she and a friend who's in the same boat feel rather abandoned by groups who appear to prefer that such negative outcomes not be recognized.

That's terrible. Sounds like a new group is needed.

her cancer had already progressed too far by the time she found a doctor who would do the appropriate tests.

I'd just like to say to take your health into your own hands. When the doc minimizes your condition or concerns, or the insurance won't cover something, follow through yourself, with other docs or by paying for something directly. Dr. Oz was speaking yesterday about a man who had a growth on his lip. It became so large that no one would hire him and he didn't have or couldn't get insurance. A sorry tale, whatever the specifics were. But Dr. Oz had said how much easier it would have been to take care of it early on. I think he'd even said that it had progressed to a fatal illness, as a cancer. Anyway, the point of his story was that it was simple in the beginning but he now had a big and costly medical problem on his hands.

Just take care of it yourself if insurance won't cover something. Not all medical things are unreachable financially, and I think that man's predicament was probably one of them.

I don't think it's over done at all. No one ever even thought about mammagrams before. I work at a radio station and we do a promotion every year and I attend the local hospitals luncheon, which is very informative and touching. And as for the pink, I adore it and I do have a pastel kitchen complete with pink mixer and coffee maker. I think you all are a little hard on anyone whose taste does not work for you. I prefer my decorating to not look as if the furniture store did it. It must be all right because my home has been featured in a magazine.

No offense meant to anyone here. K?
When my DH was 15 he lost his Mom to BC. There was no BC awareness, no pink ribbons no nothin. No one talked about cancer. She lived about 2 years after a radical mastectomy and cobalt treatments. They thought they caught it early because she could hardly feel the lump. He had to come home early to help carry her upstairs to bed at night.I can only imagine how alone she felt.No awareness, no support groups, nothing in magazines or tv.
I am a 12 (Yay) year breast cancer survivor. The first year after my surgery, I walked with 3 other friends that also were breast cancer survivors in the Baltimore Race for the Cure. We wore our pink shirts and we had names of those we remembered and those that we were celebrating.There were a sea of pink survivor shirts among the thousands of white supporter shirts. That was encouraging to me- to become aware of how many people get breast cancer ( 1 in 8 women) and how many survive. Of how much progress has been made in detecting and treating BC. Not a cure yet. Of the 4 of us, 2 are gone and one just had a mastectomy this week with chemo to follow and then there is me. knock on wood. Every day is a good day even if it sucks.
Without all of the "think pink " we would all be alone with it and no one would talk about it. I wonder how much money in total has been raised for research over the years by these companies? Some folks do prefer to collect lids etc. go figure. Some like to give cash( we try) but as long as there is no fraud, no harm no foul. Let everyone help in any way they wish.
There still is no cure for anyone. It is not like other cancers where if you make a certain number of years you care considered cured. Not BC. I will never be cured. And Nor will my friend who has to go through chemo again after 13 years of being cancer free.
Perhaps all of the think pink keeps it in the foreground and raises money a lid or a whatever at a time so that our daughters and grandaughters won't get BC or will be cured of it. People tend to forget if things aren't in the forground- that is why those New Years eve retrospectives are so fascinating- folks forget a lot in a year. Everyone has a mother and some a daughter or daughter in law or sister .
sorry my grammar this is a pouring out of thoughts and feelings as a BC survivor. thanks for letting me.

Cooper, I had no idea one was never cured of BC. Is that because of a certain predisposition with a person's breast tissue or something?

My grandmother had breast cancer in her 80s I think it was. She had a radical, which is what was done back then. She never had a recurrence and lived to be 96.

The neighborhood I grew up in has what seems like a pretty high incidence of cancer, starting a long time ago, with BC cases among them. The sister of a classmate down the road also died in her thirties from BC. Others have survived. We even had a couple young kids get it when I was growing up. One died (galloping leukemia) and the other survived (knee or something like that). Of course, those are the only two I'd heard of back then. Maybe that's not so unusual, but it seems so to us. They're all right in the same neighborhood, very close proximity.

According to my surgeon and my oncologist - no cure. but they do say the longer you go with out recurrence the better. That's why it's called the Race for the Cure. Hopefully someday.

Cooper, thanks for another perspective. It's important that both sides have a voice, because not all survivors feel the same. My mother had breast cancer late in life, but that's not what killed her. I don't know how she would have felt about all of this.

Awareness is as crucial as research, but there's a part of me not able to trust that this "sea of pink" is all it's made out to be. Where's the accountability? I shopped WalMart and Albertson's tonight. There wasn't an aisle I walked down that didn't have pink something. It started with the cat food aisle on bags of food and containers of litter. It came over the PA while shopping. There's no escaping it. That's a little scary.

Actually, I think I've heard that with all cancers. You're never really cured. Just after a certain amount of years, they don't consider it a remission any longer and they don't usually see a recurrence. People just hope at that point that it doesn't sneak back in somewhere. My mother has passed that point. She did have a metastasis, too, requiring organ and lymph node removal at another site.

I usually like to donate directly, but every bit counts. If a company makes a donation and effort of some sort as a result of a purchase, that's all good, imo.

I sometimes wonder why some causes catch the public's attention while others don't. Heart disease is the number one killer of women, yet there is nowhere near the notoriety for heart disease fundraising efforts. Is it all in the marketing? Is it because breast cancer overwhelmingly afflicts females compared to men, so some people have gravitated to it as a cause? It's great that so much attention--the color and the ribbons--have had an effect. Women need that attention for other diseases, too.

Sue, thanks for giving us your thoughts on this. Made me think. I'm so happy you're a survivor!!! Will say a prayer for your dear friend, I'm sure that's very tough on her after so many years.

"Perhaps all of the think pink keeps it in the foreground" - good point and keeping it in the foreground IS important.

Thanks for sharing!

tina

I sometimes wonder why some causes catch the public's attention while others don't. Is it because breast cancer overwhelmingly afflicts females compared to men, so some people have gravitated to it as a cause?

Just the opposite, I believe - so much attention, so much money, is already given to heart disease (and dare I say) because men are afflicted by it. The American Heart Association has been around for decades.

Breast cancer research is the new kid on the block, by comparison.

Yes, you're right about the longevity of the American Heart Association, graywings. My concern is that the commercialization of breast cancer awareness--with so many companies bombarding us with the pink symbols because they have experienced increased sales through it--has lessened women's awareness of heart disease. Yes, it's fantastic that we're now very aware of the importance of self-exams and annual mammograms. But, how many women--and doctors--ignore the symptoms of heart disease, and how many of us even think about yearly heart exams, when it's the disease that has a higher probability of killing us?

I sound like I'm ranting against breast cancer awareness, and of course I'm not. It's just that I hope its popularity and visibility hasn't lulled some women into ignoring another possible threat to their health.

Just got back from visiting my aunt - she said that once your immune system allows cancer to start, you're vulnerable to get it *anywhere*? So even though they're pretty sure they got all the BC, she could end up with skin cancer, throat cancer, anything? Though she's a smoker, if she gets anything it'll be lung cancer. But my cousin (her niece) had thyroid cancer, she could end up with another type?

so much attention, so much money, is already given to heart disease (and dare I say) because men are afflicted by it. The American Heart Association has been around for decades.

Breast cancer research is the new kid on the block, by comparison.

The fact that a disease which affects primarily women is getting attention, and so much, is, in my opinion, a good thing. Even if there are inevitably negative results as well.

As far as buying a pink thing (or as we say down here in Texas, a pank thang) instead of directly donating, well, you know, there are a lot of people out there who don't donate directly. Ever. So if their money can be garnered by selling them a product which will give at least some money to a good cause like this, then I say, more power to them!

This has been referred to as "pinkwashing" when a company splashes pink all over their product or its packaging and donates either no money at all or a pissant amount. I think it's despicable.

The marketing campaign is as much about increasing awareness as generating money/donations. I am pretty dumbstruck by the number of people who are complaining about it. I too donate directly-- but I also participate in the awareness compaigns, buy pink stuff, wear pink ribbons .. and tomorrow I will buy pink trollbeads. I understand chosing not to buy the products but to complain about them? I don't get it.

In my lifetime, I have seen awareness go from hushed whispers (I didnt even know my grandmother had breast cancer until I was well into my adulthood) to regular conversations about breast exams and mammograms. That's a success in my eyes.. kudos to the marketing genius who started the pink wave. For my sisters, my friends, my mother, my grandmothers, I am grateful for the increased awareness. For my nieces and young friends, I am grateful that our generations ARE aware.

excess, we're not talking about decorating here. I love pink too, and have a pinkish bathroom which I adore. I think you're getting the two mixed.

My mum got breast cancer just after I was born -- in 1958! So she is a 50 Year Survivor! Of course she attributes that fact to drinking good sherry and brandy! :)

Mum was given so much radiation that the doctors called it the Cobalt Bomb. Plus a mascetomy (sp?) of course -- so she lived with an enlarged arm (from the removal of the lymph nodes) for her whole life. She often wonders if she glows in the dark ..... LOL!

Frankly she is appalled that all of the research (money) has not found better ways to treat this disease then slicing off bits of a woman's body. Or filling her full of chemicals or radiation. Sigh.

We've got a long way to go!

Jan

I've read these posts with great interest. I have been having mild pains in my chest the last few weeks which I attributed to too much caffeine (a problem in the past). I cut WAY BACK on caffeine and knew I had my annual OB/GYN exam this week with my annual mammogram next week. Well, the doctor found a lump and I will be going in for a diagnostic mammogram in a week and other tests. I am early 40s with a young child and scared to pieces. Personally, seeing the pink ribbons and support actually helps. I think because of all the publicity ir is ok to talk about the disease, to not hide it, to encourage women to get annual mammograms. I agree that if a company does not provide any or much of the proceeds then that is unthinkable. I always smiled when I saw the pink merchandise and thought "how nice" that will help the other women. I never thought I might be the recipient. Keeping my head high, my thoughts positive and totally blessing those who support and encourage more research.

Ajsmama, when a primary cancer develops in a secondary site, the cancer has metastasized. For instance, if my kidney cancer metastasizes, it will likely metastasize to my lungs, but it will still be primary kidney cancer. If I develop lung cancer as a primary cancer, it will have had nothing to do with my kidney cancer.

Different primary cancers metastasize to different locations: kidney to lung; colon to brain; brain to bone; esophageal to chest wall and bone, etc.

I don't know where BC mets to, but if she develops lung cancer (or any other cancer) pathologists will determine if it is primary BC that has metastasized or a new primary cancer, and will treat the specific type of cancer. Since she smokes, well.....smoking is linked to many different cancers, including kidney. I smoked for about 8 years, quit 34 years ago, and will always wonder if that is why I developed Kidney cancer.

greenmtn, Remember you have more of a chance of NOT having it than you do having it. Many women go in for biopsy for a lump and they turn out to be benign cysts. Benign is my favorite word! Try to relax.

Excerpt from cancer.gov

What is primary cancer?

Cancer can begin in any organ or tissue of the body. The original tumor is called the primary cancer or primary tumor. It is usually named for the part of the body or the type of cell in which it begins.

What is metastasis, and how does it happen?

Metastasis means the spread of cancer. Cancer cells can break away from a primary tumor and enter the bloodstream or lymphatic system (the system that produces, stores, and carries the cells that fight infections). That is how cancer cells spread to other parts of the body.

When cancer cells spread and form a new tumor in a different organ, the new tumor is a metastatic tumor. The cells in the metastatic tumor come from the original tumor. This means, for example, that if breast cancer spreads to the lungs, the metastatic tumor in the lung is made up of cancerous breast cells (not lung cells). In this case, the disease in the lungs is metastatic breast cancer (not lung cancer). Under a microscope, metastatic breast cancer cells generally look the same as the cancer cells in the breast.

Where does cancer spread?

Cancer cells can spread to almost any part of the body. Cancer cells frequently spread to lymph nodes (rounded masses of lymphatic tissue) near the primary tumor (regional lymph nodes). This is called lymph node involvement or regional disease. Cancer that spreads to other organs or to lymph nodes far from the primary tumor is called metastatic disease. Doctors sometimes also call this distant disease.

The most common sites of metastasis from solid tumors are the lungs, bones, liver, and brain. Some cancers tend to spread to certain parts of the body. For example, lung cancer often metastasizes to the brain or bones, and colon cancer frequently spreads to the liver. Prostate cancer tends to spread to the bones. Breast cancer commonly spreads to the bones, lungs, liver, or brain. However, each of these cancers can spread to other parts of the body as well.

Because blood cells travel throughout the body, leukemia, multiple myeloma, and lymphoma cells are usually not localized when the cancer is diagnosed. Tumor cells may be found in the blood, several lymph nodes, or other parts of the body such as the liver or bones. This type of spread is not referred to as metastasis.

Also, I'm not sure that having one type of cancer could have nothing to do with having another emerge. An overwhelmed or compromised immune system, which could be due to having had cancer or cancer treatments, could leave one more susceptible to cancer developing elsewhere. I believe my mother's immune system is considered to be compromised from her bout with ca, and she needs to be more careful, though she is cautiously considered to be cured now. They also just don't know a great deal about cancer, its workings, or our own body systems.

Compromised immune systems and metastases are two different things, squirrel. Therapies don't compromise your immune system and make you more vulnerable to other cancer, but radiation therapy itself can cause new and different cancers. Being more careful won't change your mom's chances of avoiding future cancers, but it may help her live longer and healthier.

Some people do seem to develop more cancers than others do. You are correct that we don't know a great deal about cancer, yet, including why some of us develop several different kinds of cancers, some of us develop metastatic cancer, and most of us never develop any cancer at all. You are also correct that colon cancer metastasizes to the liver; I don't know why I wrote that it mets to the brain.

Where did I say they weren't different things, Sherrmann? While the treatments themselves can cause cancer, or otherwise kill a person, they also affect the immune system's ability to do its job. A compromised immune system does leave one more susceptible to developing cancer, among other things.

I believe my mother was told that her immune system is not up to snuff due to her bout with cancer. Not that she will avoid getting cancer by washing her hands more often.

I guess I misunderstood this: I believe my mother's immune system is considered to be compromised from her bout with ca, and she needs to be more careful, though she is cautiously considered to be cured now.

Perhaps one day they will discover that a compromised immune system leaves one more susceptible to developing cancer. Compromised immune systems leave one very vulnerable to infectious diseases that can kill you, and cancer treatments compromise one's immune system, but I have never heard and cannot find in the literature that it makes one more susceptible to developing cancers, except leukemia.

If you can direct me to more info about that, I'd appreciate it as a cancer patient. Were you able to find it at cancer.gov?

Thanks. I knew that metastasis meant it had spread (and the same type of cancer can spread to other organs), but my aunt's was encapsulated, they don't think it had metastasized. I don't know about my cousin's thyroid cancer. But what my aunt was saying was that *if* you developed cancer, it was a *sign* that you have a weak immune system so you could develop a *different* cancer somewhere else. Not sure that's what her dr was talking about when he told her she had to be cautious of sore throat lasting more than 3 days, pain in lower back, etc. I believe he might have just been warning her to look for signs that her BC may have metastasized.

Thanks for the info.

I'm not sure what's odd about a compromised immune system leaving one susceptible to cancer. I've been hearing this for decades. Clearly notable, are AIDS patients succumbing to cancer. Another more obvious example would be the failing immune systems of the aged, wherein diseases, including cancer, are able to take over. Also, starting decades back, was the idea of cancer being a virus. More currently, HPV is linked to cervical cancer, as well as other cancers. Stress has reason to be researched, as it impairs the immune system. There are many cancers and not only are their mechanisms not understood but they differ. There is much research and many theories.

Here is a slide on Immunity and Cancer, from the NCI:

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/understandingcancer/immunesystem/Slide32

Also from the NCI:

Understanding Cancer Series: The Immune System

This tutorial illustrates the immune system, the complex network of specialized cells and organs that distinguishes between self and foreign molecules inside the body. The presentation also explains that a malfunctioning immune system can cause allergies or arthritis and can fail to stop the growth of cancer cells. Full link, below.

Here's a very interesting excerpt from a doctor's blog:

In the public eye, cancers are not normally associated with immunodeficiency or infectious particles, but rather with carcinogens, heredity, and genetic mutations. However, cancer statistics show that viruses are responsible for as many as 15% of cancers in humans, not to mention other infectious particles like bacteria that have been linked to some cancers. This fact may help to explain the increased occurrences of some cancers in the immunosuppressed of the AIDS community.

http://the-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com/2008/04/cancer-in-aids-patients.html

Some more interesting research on psychoneuroimmunology. The mind over matter connection.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080227142656.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: Understanding Cancer Series: The Immune System

For those still reading this thread, here is an example of the types of studies that the Army of Women recruits study candidates for. This came in my e-mail today:

Have you completed your cancer treatments? Are you trying to remember what your "old self" was like because you still feel tired and run down?

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) are conducting a study exploring whether women who do yoga or participate in a wellness program experience a reduction in their post-treatment fatigue.

If you are a breast cancer survivor who lives in Los Angeles, is feeling fatigued, and has completed primary treatment at least six months ago, you might be interested in this study.

Whether this study is the right fit for you or not, lets mobilize our Army of Women to help fill this study! Pass it on, blog about it, post it, or tweet it!

WhatÂs the study about?

The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of a series of relaxing yoga classes to a Wellness Seminar series on energy, mood, physical function, and the activity of the immune and endocrine systems in women who have survived breast cancer. Sixty (60) breast cancer survivors are needed for this study.

WhatÂs involved?

If you are interested in joining this study, you will be asked to come to the UCLA Westwood Campus for an initial screening that will last about one hour.

At this time, the researchers will assess your overall health and physical capabilities to be sure this study is a right fit for you.

If you take part, you will be randomly assigned (like the flip of a coin) to either participate in a 12-week series of yoga classes or a 12-week Wellness Seminar.

The yoga program is deeply restful and uses special poses to target fatigue and promote well-being. The yoga classes will be held twice per week in a West Los Angeles yoga studio and each class will last 1 ½ hours.

The Wellness Seminar provides targeted information on fatigue and other key aspects to cancer survivorship, including expert lectures on nutrition, stress management, and sleep. The Wellness Seminar will be held once per week at the UCLA campus and will last 2 hours.

After all assessments are completed, you will be offered the opportunity to access information and/or services provided in whichever program you did not experience as part of the research study. This is completely voluntary; no further study assessments will take place.

You will be asked to keep a diary during the study to assess changes in fatigue, mood, sleep, pain and other behavioral symptoms.

You will also have samples of blood and saliva collected at various times during the study.

When you sign up for the study, the researcher will contact you, and will provide a detailed explanation and schedule of all study procedures.

Who is conducting the study?

Julienne E. Bower, PhD, at the University of California, Los Angeles
Where?
The University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center in Westwood, California

Who can participate?

You can join the Yoga and Wellness Program for Survivors study if you match ALL of these MAIN categories:

ÂYou were diagnosed with stage 0, I, or II breast cancer (there is no requirement related to date of diagnosis)

ÂYou have completed your primary breast cancer treatment at least 6 months ago. (primary treatment includes surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Continuing to take tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor will be allowed)

ÂYou have no evidence of a breast cancer recurrence or having another cancer

ÂYou are post-menopausal

ÂYou are a woman between the ages of 40 - 65 years

ÂYou are not a regular (daily) smoker

ÂYou are not a heavy drinker ( having more than two alcoholic beverages per day in a 7-day period)

ÂYou are able to go to the UCLA Westwood Campus (and possibly a West Los Angeles yoga studio) to participate in study procedures

ÂYou have no physical limitations that might interfere with your ability to do yoga

The researcher may ask you additional questions to be sure this study is a right fit for you.