Good Riddance Pink October
October is triggering for a lot of breast cancer survivors. One might THINK that it’s honoring. I mean - who doesn’t love to acknowledge those who have fought this battle and won; those who continue to fight this battle and ‘kick cancer’s ass’; and especially those who have fought this battle and lost are to be remembered and celebrated. But honestly - the whole Pink October thing? Yeah - it just sucks. It doesn’t suck for everyone but it sucks for many. In the breast cancer circles, it’s the month of October that most dread vs. look forward to and let’s talk about WHY.
1) PINK makes me sick. Okay, not really but this sudden flood of pink that seems to take October by storm is sickening. It feels so disingenuous and like such a marketing ploy. Companies who slap a pink ribbon on their logo during the month of October, yet do nothing to help support research or help to support those affected by breast cancer - this is just wrong. This concept of ‘pink washing’ has given the Susan G. Komen organization a lot of bad press and publicity and frankly, it’s warranted. They have been accused of helping organizations benefit financially from ‘pink ribbon marketing’ while supporting those same organizations who’s very products are linked to having cancer causing properties. Gross. And Susan G. Komen’s partnership with Planned Parenthood? Yeah, there’s that. Listen - I’m not saying good isn’t being done out there by well intended companies who truly care and are trying to provide support. There is and there are. BUT - to someone who has been personally affected by this disease and who is also trying to navigate the TRUTH, all this pink madness is just NOISE and needs to stop.
2) Stop OVER Glamorizing Breast Cancer. Pink is cute. Pink ribbons are cute. Pink Tu-Tu’s are cute. Pink wigs. It’s all cute. Breast Cancer? Not FREAKING cute. Breast Cancer literally guts you. Well meaning people will say things like ‘Oh - at least they caught it early.’ or ‘Good thing you got the easy kind of cancer’ or gotta love the ‘Oooh - you get a free boob job’ Again - all well meaning people (in their own way) but seriously? I love the fact that the public at large is becoming more educated about breast cancer as a whole, especially when talking about it was TABOO not that many years ago but can we please stop trying to make it ‘CUTE’? I see and read stories daily about women struggling to refind their femininity after their mastectomy; or how depression sets in months after treatments are said and done because women are struggling with what ‘living’ looks like for them now. Women trying to figure out how to live with a metastatic diagnosis yet be there for their family. Body deformations. Wounds and scars that run deeper than what you can see physically. There is nothing ‘cute’ about this disease.
3) Cancer is a Life-Long Diagnosis. The most frequent question those affected by cancer gets asked is ‘are you in remission’ or ‘did they get it all’? Yes - again - well meaning and because people don’t know what to do with any other response, we often answer YES (as far as we know - unless of course you are metastatic) but here is what we are thinking: cancer NEVER goes away. It literally plagues you every day. It plagues your thoughts. It plagues your plans. It plagues your dreams. Not always consciously but most definitely sub consciously. It’s like a dormant sleepy giant inside your body that could awaken at any point in time and literally consumes and potentially and literally could kill you when you least expect it. We often feel like a crazy person because we live in this limbo land - somewhere between ‘I am so blessed to be now healthy & thriving’ to ‘I fully expect to die from cancer at some point in my life when this rears it’s ugly head again’. Or when we hear about yet another tragic loss in our community - we can gravitate between ‘survivors guilt’ and ‘oh thank GOD that isn’t my situation’. This is a COMMON place we live. Between these two extremes. Maybe not every day. Maybe not consciously. And praise God that for me it’s becoming less and less, but this is REAL. And it happens far beyond ‘Pink October’
So listen - I’m not trying to BASH well meaning people or good intentions here. I’m really not. There IS a lot of good that happens through breast cancer awareness campaigns and endeavors. What I am trying to do is bring awareness from the perspective of one who has not only ‘been’ there but also continues to live there every day. My advice is THIS: Look beneath the surface. Look beyond the PINK. Seek to SEE first and then try to understand. Be careful what organizations you support. Where you place your money MATTERS so make sure it’s going to where you want it to go.
xoxo Bring on November ;-)