It’s October, the time of year that the whole world
seems to be bathed in a thick coating of pepto bismol pink. Now don’t get me wrong, I am grateful for
those women in the early 90’s, who originated the pink ribbon, to bring breast
cancer action and awareness into the public eye, raising the money that funded
the research that promoted the early detection systems and developed the
treatments that mean that I get to be alive today to write this blog. The pink ribbon campaign provided vital
visibility in a day when you didn’t say things like "cancer" or "breast" out loud.
But that was then, and this is now. Women are more aware, but they are still
dying. We haven’t kicked all of the many
diseases that we call breast cancer, and the color pink isn’t going to fix
that. We need a lot more green now.
It’s seems to be table stakes these days that companies must
wave a pink banner or ‘pinkify’ an appliance every October, to prove their
solidarity with the cause. There is a pink breast cancer banner hanging up in
the lobby of my office building. That’s
nice, but what I want to know is, does the management company contribute actual
dollars to breast cancer research? Each October when I pick up my Tamoxifen at
Walgreen’s, it comes with a pink cap.
Really? I am taking an
anti-estrogen drug formulated to fight breast cancer recurrence. Believe me, I am aware, and I would be much
happier if Walgreen’s took the money they spend creating those pink caps and
donated it to Stand Up to Cancer, or the Army of Women. To fund actual research that will eradicate
breast cancer so that no one else has to die.
Here’s the thing.
Social goodwill is great, but it doesn’t cure cancer. What will is money, put in the hands of
researchers who dedicate their lives’ work to finding a cure. So if a pink
coffee maker is really the perfect accompaniment to your kitchen décor, by all
means, buy it. But if you have some
actual green to spend, find a worthwhile organization, perhaps the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and donate.
And let me be the first to say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
