So what does all that pink crap really mean?

Pink was my favorite color. Along came breast cancer and its pink ribbons on everything - socks, t shirts, cars, food packaging, store windows, etc. Then the world is bathed in pepto bismol for the month of October (instead of orange and black). Millions wear a pink bracelet. Thousands wear little pink ribbon pins to declare their medical history.

And what has changed? Not a hell of a lot. Some companies got rich making a lot of pink crap. Everyone knows what color ribbon stands for breast cancer. Everyone will say the words 'breast cancer' instead of whispering it as a death sentence. Teenage boys can say the word 'breast' with the word 'cancer' without snickering. The world is full of people who know about breast cancer but are sure they will not get it.

We are aware of breast cancer thank you. We do not need more awareness. We need a cure. I know I am being redundant but awareness is overdone for breast cancer. Can we talk about other kinds of cancer? There are lots of cancers out there. Some grow tumors. Some grow in your blood. Some grow in your lymph system. Some case a lot of pain. Some you don't feel until its way to late. Some cannot be operated on. There are millions of people in this country who have been down the cancer road and are waiting, not very patiently, for the day they do not need to fear their cancer's return because there will be a cure.

The pink crap has brought us a pepto colored world where people can talk about breast cancer but where we still can't make it go away.

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Flavor of the month

This month is childhood cancer awareness month, thyroid cancer awareness month, and I believe at least another cancer awareness month. But beware, October is no longer the month of orange and black for Halloween but Pinktober for breast cancer. We will be bombarded with pinkwashing events and deals. Well, whoop-de-dooh. What does this get us?

NOTHING. Cancer doesn't only happen in a specific month. Cancer happens year round. People are diagnosed daily with all different kinds of cancer. Cancer awareness is a good thing. In some ways I am grateful for it. Cancer awareness has reduced cancer from being the C-word to something that is openly talked about.

President Nixon declared a war on cancer over 40 years ago (which is the longest war in US history)... Betty Ford, and every other person who has openly said over the years that they have cancer, should be lauded for helping raise awareness about cancer.

Its not the flavor of the month. Its life for some of us. I won't be participating in Pinktober any more than I am participating in thyroid cancer awareness this month. I don't participate in any monthly activities because September and October are no different than any other day in my life.

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More on lists

Yesterday afternoon I saw a list of 'Celebrities fighting cancer'. I ignored it but then wanted to go back and read it. But couldn't find it. I know it was on the internet somewhere. I tried googling it and came up with another list of celebrities with cancer - much longer, going back decades.

My thoughts on celebrities and cancer is, um, well, celebrities are people too and just because they are famous doesn't really change that much. They might go to the big fancy medical centers. They will have days where they are scared, nauseous, feeling the little pinch when they put in the giant needle, and have the same scans, tests, and procedures as the rest of us. They might be lucky enough not to have to worry about expenses their insurance doesn't cover.

We can't just list famous people dealing with cancer without listing all of the non-famous people dealing with cancer. My first thought was to have an anti-celebrity list of people with cancer where anyone could sign their name. But then, that list wouldn't be complete without everyone who is no longer with us who can't sign their name.

Cancer is a leveler. It doesn't matter if you are famous or not. Some days you want to talk about it, some days you don't. Some days you spend too much damn quality time in the waiting room between fun interludes with needles and machines.

One few thing we all have in common is a desire to see a cure. To reach a day where you go to the doctor and they say you have cancer but we'll do this and you take this for 30 days and it should be gone by then. It seems everything that is out there 'reduces tumors', 'impedes tumor growth', 'reduces spread', or 'extends life for two to four months'. Those aren't cures. Those are slowing the progression. A real cure is one that removes it from your body for ever.

Twenty years ago Lyme disease was the scourge of southern New England, affecting dozens. If you were bitten by a tick carrying Lyme disease you were destined for a life of arthritic like pain with no cure. Now they give you antibiotics and you're done. That's what I want in a cure for cancer.

The list I want on cancer is a list of type of cancer followed by actions done to cure it. Not a list of staging and prognosis for each stage and treatment options. Just a cure. Am I asking too much?

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