The Pink-tober Madness begins!
 

Re: The Pink-tober Madness begins!
 

NEDenise

I feel your pain. Still I didn't get the message of early detection. The pink campaign sends out the wrong message. I think most respond to the give us your money so that you can help others.

Somewhere in the message should be "Hey you, YES, YOU. MAKE AN APPOINTMENT FOR A MAMMOGRAM!

I saw money pouring in at the Relay for Life. I studied the ACS website trying to find the research the money was going to. it seemed pretty vague. ACS did list the number of studies and the funds going to breast cancer and "other" cancers. But what is being supported in breast cancer research I couldn't determine.

With the Pinks I don't recall seeing any Awareness being promoted just fundraising. Have you seen any ads asking folks to check their boobies? Or do we see ads promoting fundraising? Give or walk, not feel and squish boobies.

Re: The Pink-tober Madness begins!
 

Yes, I am seeing the pink campaign on cereal boxes and foil, just to name a couple. That pink ribbon has gotten SO pervasive that the newspapers will have a full page of "pink" items to look for at the large grocery chains.

Re: The Pink-tober Madness begins!
 

I freakin' HATE the pink, HATE pinktober, HATE the ribbon. It is all consumerism. Try to follow the pink donations, the actual amount donated is dismal!! :-)

Re: The Pink-tober Madness begins!
 

And we all know that a nice honey baked ham is real healthy. Nothing lie a big dose of salt, fat and preservatives for the blood pressure and waistline. What hypocrites

Re: The Pink-tober Madness begins!
 

Re: The Pink-tober Madness begins!
 

Very annoyed by "breastcancer awareness" posts showing half naked women covering their breasts. Its like asking people not to DUI showing how happy those people are when they are " under influence". How about using models who have had mastectomies in real life? Only do peoople get to see the real ugly side of breast cancer will they know how important early detection is !

Pink is not my color !

Re: The Pink-tober Madness begins!
 

I'll add my distaste for groups that put on fund raisers to "save boobs" or "ta tas" and other terms that trivialize the situation

Re: The Pink-tober Madness begins!
 

I was just watching my local news and there is a $32.00 per table fashion show, all of the fashions are pink (gag me). It is a fundraiser for local women that are in treatment to help with costs etc. Although this cause supports the local community and I appreciate the efforts of everyone involved, the "pink thing" just kills me. I am in the marketing business...wouldn't battle fatiques be a better fashion representation of a breast cancer diagnosis? Do we feel all pink and feminine when we are diagnosed...or do we rear up like soldiers and fight for our lives, while we feel insecure about our futures, get body parts severed off, and get nuked with toxic chemicals? Why not break out a collection of leather boots & jackets, wool jackets, khaki pants? The lack of originality is astounding...the pink bandwagon continues.

Re: The Pink-tober Madness begins!
 

AliceM........good idea !

Re: The Pink-tober Madness begins!
 

Somehow this year I am not as worked up as in the past. I'm not sure why. I'm just as fed up with turning a public health problem into a pink popularity contest. (September is ovarian cancer awareness month. Not seeing a whole lot of teal around).

The worst thing about all the triumph and hope is that the 40,000 people a year who die from it in the US get erased. They're an embarrassment. Or they did something "wrong."

But, still, other things are grabbing my attention more firmly. Maybe I've been in this "club" long enough to expand my vision.

My hat's off to those who push for Cure and Prevention. And if I ever have money to donate again, I'll be sure to choose organizations that do that.

Re: The Pink-tober Madness begins!
 

I had an imeadiate aversion to pink the moment I was diagnosed!

Re: The Pink-tober Madness begins!
 

Let me just say, for the record, that it's not at all clear that "early detection saves lives." If they could really tell which cancers were dangerous and which were not, that might be true. But by shifting the focus from (a) prevention (and I mean efforts to find out what's causing it and eliminate the causes--such as the soup of industrial pollutants that we all soak up every day) and (b) cure to "Let's find out you have it and do our standard 'slash, burn and poison' on everyone and, oh, by the way, we'll make billions of dollars on routine screening" I am not going to advocate everyone getting mammograms every year from age 40 on. Lots of false positives. Lots of false negatives. Lots of money to be made scaring people into thinking they have a higher risk of getting this disease than they really do (and then duping them into thinking early detection = cure.) The fact is, about 30% of people diagnosed and treated at a lower stage progress to Stage IV, and about 10% are Stage IV at diagnosis. Those are not particularly good survival statistics. I do not believe you can consider any breast cancer curable. We need to learn what causes metastasis and how to stop it. Then we can all go "racing for the cure" to make sure everyone gets that--a vaccine or a pill or whatever.

The gold standard in cancer is PREVENTION. Lung cancer rates have plummeted along with rates of smoking. Stomach cancer is almost a thing of the past now that we have refrigeration and antibiotics. Cervical cancer in women and throat cancer in men is now preventable with an HPV vaccine. That's what we need.

We know people--dear, beloved, sorely missed sisters on this board--who were diagnosed and treated at Stage 0 and died anyway. We'll never know how many were diagnosed "early" and went through all the trauma of treatment who would not have died if it had been found later, when they were symptomatic. A short time back an "accidental" pairing of matched populations in Europe showed NO difference in overall survival between starting routine screening early and starting it later. OTOH, it might make all the difference for an individual. At this time, there is no way to tell.

I have a friend who found her own enlarged axillary lymph node ONE MONTH after a "clear" mammogram. I have another friend who has a similar story. They are both Stage IV. I was maybe a little behind in my mammo schedule (due to insurance/budget concerns) but not all that far behind, and my tumor would have been Stage II if not for those pesky mets they found at diagnosis. So spare me the "early detection saves lives" mantra. You can't prove it.

Re: The Pink-tober Madness begins!
 

Re: The Pink-tober Madness begins!
 

Pink
Though you are of course exceptionally wonderful... I have found trolls of all sorts to be a generally pleasant lot. :)

And, for the record... I like pink. I look good in it.
I just want the lion's share of the pink-generated money to go toward curing us!
Denise

Re: The Pink-tober Madness begins!
 

Here here Denise! I know mammagrams find a lot of breast cancers early but... I could have 100 and it still would of missed mine. The cure is the only way we end this thing!

Re: The Pink-tober Madness begins!
 

I agree...a cure is the only way, and the money needs to go towards research for a cure. So frustrating.
The day my breast cancer was diagnosed, the doctor said "You caught it early, and I know its upsetting news to hear, but you are going to be just fine." Huh.
I didn't even know there were different types of breast cancer until I was diagnosed. I had never even heard of HER2 or triple negative.
People need to know these things. They need to know its not always an easy cure like we see these celebrities going on about...I mean really, are they implying that I am stage IV because I didn't get mammograms? lol Well, I did.
If everyone does not know by now to do self breast exams and get their mammograms, they must live under a rock...

Re: The Pink-tober Madness begins!
 

How about this commercial for Pink Lemonade energy drink. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na-RNv2v5io

It's unbelievable how this stuff has not been regulated or taken off the market. It's like telling a smoker to buy cigarettes. I think these drinks are adding to the problem of stimulating our already exhausted adrenals.

Denise, I too like pink, but I absolutely cringe when I see the pink bombardment. It was especially hard in Oct of 2011 when I was diagnosed with the sternal metastasis and was VERY aware that I had breast cancer, to go into the stores without feeling like I wanted to cry. Not enough funds are going into research for metastatic breast cancer and too many people are making money off our hardships.

Re: The Pink-tober Madness begins!
 

Well, this is my third pink-tober with metastatic breast cancer (I was one of the 10% that is stage IV from the get go). I have to admit I was much more worked up about it last year. While I agree that most of the marketing is misleading and the monies that ARE allocated toward BC are not spent on the most effective channels (hello...CURE) I don't have the anger this year that I did last year. Early detection and mammograms wouldn't have helped me. (I had several breast exams during my pregnancy and was too young to have regular mammograms and yet I had stage IV cancer just three months after I gave birth.) Yet, if a consumer wants to buy a pack of pink toilet paper, and $.50 of that is going to go toward BC programs, well, that's $.50 we didn't have to begin with. Yes, I agree the imagery is appalling, but I feel that imagery is also one of the reasons BC gets so much attention. (I dont think pictures of my mastectomy would sell well) And my hope is that all this attention will continue to keep BC in the forefront of peoples mind and that may push research for new and better drugs and one day a cure. Maybe this is a far stretch, but I need to believe.

I know this is probably not a popular view here, and being a metster myself I totally get the disgust, but I'm just trying to look at things a bit differently this year. Trying to see the silver lining, trying really hard. ;)

Re: The Pink-tober Madness begins!
 

Giant bra draws curious looks; artist hopes ArtPrize entry also raises breast cancer awareness Catherine Smith-Brzeczkiewicz of Mt. Morris stands in front of her ArtPrize entry titled "Embracing Strength and Grace," on Monday, September 16, 2013, in front of the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge on Jefferson Avenue SE. Smith-Brzeczkiewicz designed the 24 ft. wide by 11 ft. bra to raise awareness for breast cancer and as a tribute to her mom, who passed away in 2012. (Emily Zoladz | MLive.com)
Emily Zoladz | ezoladz@mlive.com



GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Catherine Smith-Brzeczkiewicz drew a lot of stares and double-takes Monday, Sept. 15, as she installed her ArtPrize entry – a giant pink-and-white, polka-dot bra.
Smith-Brzeczkiewicz, a drapery maker from Mt. Morris, created the bra in honor of her mother’s battle with breast cancer. The 24-by-11-foot fabric sculpture is displayed on the north side of the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge, 129 Jefferson Ave. SE, in Grand Rapids.
“I’ve never done anything this huge before,” Smith-Brzeczkiewicz said. “It’s amazing. It has a whole lot of meaning for me.”
Her entry, titled Embracing with Strength & Grace, will remain on display throughout ArtPrize, which runs Sept. 18 to Oct. 6. The public is invited to a reception for the artist at Hope Lodge from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19.
Smith-Brzeczkiewicz, a native of Saginaw, has made custom window treatments for 35 years through her business, Catherine’s Custom Drapes, in Mt. Morris, near Flint. Her mother survived 34 years after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She died in February 2012 after the cancer spread to her brain.
“She was very patient and graceful and always had a positive outlook on life,” Smith Brzeczkiewicz said. “Cancer was not stopping her from living life to its fullest.”
Smith-Brzeczkiewicz also is a breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed five years ago.
“The bra is a representation of what it means to make it through cancer,” she said. “It is big, shocking, overwhelming and its beauty represents the person facing it head on.”
She was encouraged to build the bra sculpture by her 34-year-old twin daughters, Casie and Kelly, who live in Grand Rapids. They are active in Bras Across the Grand, a cancer society event in October that raises awareness about breast cancer.
Although she had never made a giant fabric sculpture before, Smith-Brzeczkiewicz decided to give it a try. Like her daughters, she wants to raise awareness about breast cancer and generate funds for research.
“I’m so proud of my daughters and all the hard work they do,” she said.
The title of the piece is inspired by the way her mother faced her illness.
“She embraced cancer with strength, and she did it gracefully,” Smith-Brzeczkiewicz said.
After ArtPrize, the giant bra will be donated to the cancer society. It will be displayed at Bras Across the Grand on Oct. 19 at the Gillett Pedestrian Bridge near Ah-Nab-Awen Park in Grand Rapids.
On Oct. 26, it will be at Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Flint.
Sue Thoms covers health care for MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. Email her at sthoms1@mlive.com or follow her on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.





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