Lord forgive me... I HATE PINK!!!!

[kreed70]

I'm all twisted up w/ the BC support everywhere and I do mean everywhere!!

The craziest part is I have some of the major risk factors for BC!!! The biggest is that my maternal grandma had it! I don't even think of those first though when I see pink- I think of all of us!!!

I actually get a jealous feeling when I see the support.

I know that this is not the Battle of the Cancers but I just felt the need to actually say all of this out loud.

Kelly

[Welthy]

I know -- I see red when I see pink lately. Do you think there will be this much bally-hoo in November for Lung Cancer?

WElthy

[blaze100]

Hi Kelly, I think there is much backlash on bc right now from every corner, not just lc survivors.

Let's face it, it is primarily a women's disease and they make up half the voting population.

Barb

[carolhg]

Remember now, lungs are more pink than breasts. We need to point out to the country that lung cancer is more prevalent than breast cancer and effects every color of breast male and female. Don't hate pink-Go with it-Make it work for lung cancer too!

[Welthy]

Here is a re-posting by "TreebyWater" in this catagory, of an article from the Chicago Tribune that I thought needed more exposure. (Hope this is okay!) Thanks so very much to "TreebyWater" for finding this. Gives us hope that the "pink tide" is turning. (Sorry, my part-time coastal Floridian roots are showing...)

CHICAGO TRIBUNE ARTICLE ON LUNG CANCER

Breast cancer, sure, but what about the bigger killer?

By Leslie Goldman

Special to the Tribune

Published October 1, 2006

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and everywhere you look, the world is donning rose-colored glasses: pink ribbons, pink Swarovski crystal jewelry, limited-edition pink lipsticks--last year, Delta even unveiled a pink Boeing 757. Survivors and supporters alike walk 60 miles in three days all around the country to raise money for research; celebrities and musicians talk openly about their battles with the disease, which claimed the lives of more than 40,000 women last year.

Melissa "Missy" Zagon knows about cancer. Since fall 2000, she has endured seven rounds of chemotherapy, lost her hair three times and had brain surgery to remove a golfball-size metastatic tumor that was causing horrific, nauseating headaches. Her right lung is riddled with cancer. Multiple radiation treatments on Zagon's brain to shrink other lesions have diminished her concentration, although surprisingly, not drastically. Seemingly forever she has been on some sort of chemotherapeutic pill. Yet the once-vibrant attorney's tumors would either stabilize or grow but never shrink.

Zagon, 38, does not have breast cancer, however. Her problem starts deeper, so to speak, in the organs beneath her breasts. She has been battling Stage 4 lung cancer, the worst kind, for six years. And no, she was never a smoker. Nor did she have a family history of the disease. The simple but little-known fact is that lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, causing more deaths than the next three most common cancers combined (colon, breast and prostate). It kills more women each year than breast cancer. Last year, an estimated 163,510 people died from lung cancer, according to the American Cancer Society, and a growing number are women.

"I never in a million years thought it could be my lungs," said Zagon, recalling her initial diagnosis. "Maybe my colon, maybe my breasts . . . never my lungs!" Looking back, she thought it was stress that was causing the periodic episodes of tingling in her left arm and making her throat close up. But when a headache started over Labor Day weekend of 2000 and an MRI revealed three brain lesions, she knew the stress was just beginning. At age 32, with a loving husband, 2-year-old daughter Hannah and a thriving career, Zagon, of Deerfield, had a 1 percent chance of living five years.

Zagon's initial surprise at her diagnosis is not uncommon. So pervasive is the belief that only smokers get lung cancer that when her first X-rays revealed an abnormality, she was treated for pneumonia. She said she is constantly asked, "Well, how'd you get it?"--a pet peeve of hers. "Would you ever ask someone with breast cancer, `How'd you get it?' . . . We don't know why I got it, and that's why we need more research."

"With lung cancer, there's still some stigma," acknowledged Zagon's oncologist, Dr. Philip Bonomi, director of hematology/oncology at Rush University Medical Center. "But about one in seven never smoked, and half the people are former smokers. . . . They did the right thing" by quitting, yet, still, their lungs could not fully recover. So Bonomi believes an ultimate goal is to stop children from starting smoking in the first place. He also mentioned that women were targeted by tobacco companies during the women's liberation movement, a tactic that may account in part for increased cancer numbers.

With breast cancer, a lot of it is caught early. "You're taught to do monthly self-exams, and you can get checked," Zagon said. "And there are a lot of young survivors [so] people are surviving to spread the word." With lung cancer, she said, it's the opposite: Detection mechanisms are poor, funding for education is low (in 2005, federal government spending amounted to $13,704 per breast cancer death, but just $1,627 per lung cancer death) and the rate of survival is not conducive to spreading the word.

Zagon is working to raise awareness and generate funding for research through an organization called LUNGevity, which she and six other individuals founded (of the seven founders, who all had or have lung cancer, only three--Zagon, Kay Barmore and Patti Helfand of Northbrook--are still alive). The LUNGevity Foundation is the only U.S. organization dedicated exclusively to funding lung cancer research. Partnering with physicians and researchers, sponsoring walks and holding fundraisers, they have helped raise more than $2.5 million in lung cancer research projects since 2001.

As for now, Zagon remains cautiously optimistic. Does she think she will live to a very old age? No, she answers plainly. She was back on chemotherapy in August, as the cancer had spread to her spinal cord. But then again, at one point she was worried she wouldn't make it to her daughter's 3rd birthday and "Here I am, watching her in 3rd grade."

Said husband Glenn: "I never in a million years thought it would happen to her. She was the poster child for eating healthy, living healthy." But, he added, "She is a fighter."

For more information, visit lungevity.org or call 773-281-5864.

Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune

[RandyW]

Before I gpo out and throw eggs because of stress;

read this article.

Other diseases have ribbons, too

By Jessica Peck Corry

Colorado Voices

Article Last Updated:10/13/2006 07:28:22 PM MDT

Warning: This column might be so politically incorrect that you may feel the need to send me harassing e-mails. During October, this sacred month commemorating breast cancer awareness, our commitment to the cause may be diverting our attention from diseases in greater need of our attention.

Earlier this month, more than 65,000 walkers and runners came together in Denver for the nation's largest Race for the Cure. In T-shirts emblazoned with pink ribbons, accessorized with pink socks, pink hats and matching pink shoes, participants made their way through Denver in support of survivors and finding a cure.

The pink-ribbon craze has become a national phenomenon topped only by our addiction to "American Idol." Here are just a few of the pink items you can buy that advertise as providing financial support for breast cancer research: a $250 cashmere sweater, $16 underwear, $3 lip balm, crystal toe rings, and Campbell's soup.

The shoe company New Balance advertises more than 30 "pink ribbon" items, ranging from women's golf shoes to men's "co-survivor" T-shirts. Costco sells pink ribbon lint rollers in bulk. Kitchen-Aid features an entire Cook for the Cure line. Target has 46 "pink ribbon" items on its website. That's before you get to eBay, which has more than 2,000 such items listed.

I thought I had seen it all - that is, until last weekend, when I saw a hemp-based lotion bottle boasting a pink marijuana leaf. Talk about market saturation. The only thing missing now are pink Halloween pumpkins.

Breast cancer awareness has become a marketing tool of savvy corporations. It's a smart move. Pink sells. We eagerly buy products marked up in the name of giving back. One example: The upscale vacuum company Oreck boasts on its website that it donates $50 from the sale of each of its $550 Pink Ribbon XL Ultra cleaners to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Meanwhile, if you want the XL Ultra without the pink ribbon, you'll need to plunk down $500. Who is making the donation now?

While we can pat ourselves on the back for opening our wallets in support of fighting breast cancer, another approach is warranted to get the best bang for our buck in the effort to save lives.

We need to talk about heart disease and lung cancer, the two top killers of women. According to the American Cancer Association, lung cancer will take more than 160,000 lives this year, four times the number of breast cancer deaths. Every year, nearly 40 percent of all U.S. deaths are caused by heart disease, while all cancers together cause 23 percent.

To be fair, we must also stop focusing solely on women. Heart disease and cancer's toll on our men are equally astounding. According to the ACA, more than 230,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year - more than the 211,000 women who will learn they have breast cancer.

Let's also talk about colon cancer, the second-deadliest cancer for men. While most women are comfortable (or at least familiar) with regular mammograms, men continue to neglect colon and prostate screenings, only going at the nagging of their wives.

Why aren't we out walking in droves for men, encouraging colonoscopies and prostate exams? We neglect these essential tests because they're embarrassing or awkward. Silence is killing our men.

Part of our public focus is simply the result of outstanding work by the Komen Foundation. Certainly, it provides a model for other organizations to implement. This assumes, however, that we'd open our wallets to other causes with the same fervor. About 1,000 people came out for the American Lung Association's Run the Register event this year.

Yes, breast cancer is deadly, but we need to put its toll in perspective. There is an entire rainbow of ribbons we should also be wearing: teal stands for ovarian cancer, clear stands for lung cancer, yellow is for bladder cancer or sarcoma, while periwinkle is for esophageal and burgundy for multiple myeloma. Wear ivory with burgundy if you want to support head and neck cancer and purple for Leiomyosarcoma. Colon cancer's ribbons are brown and prostate cancer's are light blue.

Confused? If you want to show your support for those suffering from any type of cancer, you can wear a lavender ribbon. But wait. Some websites list lavender as the color for sexual harassment awareness, with Paula Jones championing the cause. Lavender is also the color of choice for epilepsy consciousness. There are even ribbons for Restless Leg Syndrome sufferers.

The bottom line: In the rush for pink DustBusters and $50 pink candles, we have lost focus of our other priorities. This year, in lieu of a pink ribbon, I'll be wearing brown and light blue in support of my husband - another nagging reminder of my commitment to his prostate and colon health and, ultimately, our life together. Oh, the romance.

Jessica Peck Corry (Jessica@i2i.org) serves as a public policy analyst with the Independence Institute in Golden, where she specializes in civil rights, higher education, and land use policy.

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[daggiesmom]

Yesterday I saw a tv show that showed in graphic detail what a woman goes thru to get breast implants.I couldn't believe what these women were putting themselves thru. They had no illness, just wanted to look "prettier" - how ironic in one of the scenes the girl who wanted to go from double A to large C had a Marlboro pack hanging out of her pocketbook in the doctor's office. I wanted to scream at the tv, don't bother worrying what they look like, worry about what's going on UNDERNEATH them and thank your lucky stars for everything you've got so far.

I guess this all boils down to my belief that people's obsession with breast cancer is directly related to the obsession with breast beauty in our society. No one cares about the shape of their lungs until they're struggeling to breath. Hopefully this attitude will change. And yes, I must admit I think there is too much pink lately.

Joanie

[tnmynatt]

I keep telling myself that there is probably some benefit to lung cancer patients as a result of all the breast cancer research going on. Maybe it is on the fringes with gene research, minimizing side-effects of chemos...something. I hope that is the case.

[Geri]

My favorite gripe!

I think it's wonderful that a handful of people were able to start the avalanche that begot the pink ribbon, I'm thrilled that if I ever get that diagnosis someone went before me and raised the money for me to have a very good chance of survival.

However, enough already!

My friends who are breast cancer advocates also want to see me and my fellow lc fighters have the same chance that they had. My husband is a very recent prostate cancer survivor and he has gone to bat for our Boston walk knowing that his prognosis is way better that mine ever was.

I think our clear ribbon says it all..........it's invisible!

Geri

[peacelover]

I must be weird, it just does not bother me at all to see pink everywhere

I just think cancer stinks period...and any raised awareness is awesome..including pink!

I would never wish the effects of cancer on any person or any family and would love to see ALL forms vanish from the face of the earth.

I think to that all cancer to some extent is interconnected and that advancements in the treatment of one type will cause advancements in the all the other types of cancer...and I think that is what we ALL want!

Peace Ya'll!

Melissa

[Treebywater]

I blogged about pink earlier this month.

http://digtoesin.wordpress.com/2006/10/02/torn-on-pink/

I've wrestled with it a lot since Mom was diagnosed and for now I think I want to use the 'pink-fever' as a challenge to do something about Lung Cancer and so many others that are soooo under-represented.

And I think it's time we start our own avalanche of awareness.

[Andrea]

I go back and forth. Sometimes I want to scream b/c I am seeing pink everywhere in the stores.

Then I think of my good friend's cousin who just died at age 35 from breast cancer.

My hope is that some discovery in general research will bring a cure for all cancers b/c cancer just stinks.

[Debi]

Val, you hit the nail on the head with this sentence:

And I think it's time we start our own avalanche of awareness.

That's the bottom line, isn't it? We can witch and whine that no one is supporting us, no one is supporting lung cancer, but who is going to do it if we don't?? Nobody is going to fight for our cause if we don't, there are plenty of causes out there. And probably the biggest group of lung cancer survivors/caretakers anywhere, are right here, on this board.

I too, envy the pink and joke with my friends about going to Walmart and dropping a match in the 'pink' product display. Personally, I really don't think that lung cancer is going to benefit much from breast cancer research. But that's okay, the pink was started by a group of persistent people, and they worked hard for it to become trendy. We need to get just as persistent and start working as a team, online and off.

[ginnyde]

I totally agree with Debi. Pink didn't become PINK just because or due to the government. It became this humongous cause because of survivors and their family and friends screaming that they were not going to take this anymore and doing something about it.

Because breast cancer has a better chance of earlier detection there are many more survivors to work for their cause.

We need to do this same thing. I realized when Earl was sick that we had to be our own advocates, question the docs, insist upon treatments etc.

If we want recognition and funding for lc we need to start it ourselves and then keep noisy about our cause. I met with a breast surgeon last week (about my calcium deposits) and told him about how many young women who never smoked who had breast cancer. I didn't get any reaction out of him until I said that it seemed some of them had had breast cancer that had been treated with radiation first. There was a definite change in his expression. Maybe, just maybe, he will think about this.

Not to chastise, because I am amazed that all of you with lc can possibly think of anything but getting yourself better. But, there seems to be a very lukewarm response to supporting our members that are walking 11/11. Money, lots and lots and lots of money is needed to fund the research for lung cancer. People, lots and lots and lots of people are needed to make big noise about lung cancer.

So let's rally behind our cause.

[tnmynatt]

Amen, sister.

[dchurchi]

I admit, I am tired of pink. I also believe some companies are banking a pretty good

chunk of cash when they market the PINK RIBBION. I read an article that states these companines

do not disclose how much they "actually" donate to

breast cancer research after their wave of pink products fly off the shelves during the month of

Oct. Therefore I do not buy the products. I would rather donate Directly to a cause than through a Coporation that benefits from a terrible disease.

That's my 2 cents. My time, (and yes Money) go directly to St. Joseph Hospital where Alan was/is treated.

They just broke ground on a new 87,000 square foot Comprehensive Cancer Center that opens Fall of 2008.

[Ry]

I think we all need to re-think where we give and donate our money. We should all be supporting LUNGevity or lung cancer research or patients in some way. I get very irritated when people complain but don't do anything (speaking in general not to anyone posted here). Numerous fund-raisers have been posted that are raising much needed research dollars and the response as been less than stellar. With the number of members here if everyone gave $5.00 we'd be doing well. And if you can't afford to give even that, then write a letter, do something, do anything (besides complain) to make a difference. We can't just sit back and expect things to change. We have to do it.

Speaking of making a difference-- Tracy's team has raised over $7,000.00 for LUNGevity. She has lung cancer, a family and is going through treatment-and I am in awe of her and what she has been able to do.

[dadstimeon]

Very well said Rochelle.

Richard

[peacelover]

I have often wondered why people see lung cancer the way they do....and if that has anything to do with research and donation and support.

I mean the first thing that people always say to me when I tell them about my mom is 'Oh she must have been a smoker, huh?'

Of course I reply emphatically NO......that alway leaves them with a question mark on their face-almost like the do not believe that she never smoked nor was she around second hand smoke..

I walked in OK last year for Lung Cancer and had a hard time raising 500$..I just started training for a marathon with Team In Training for Lymphoma/Leukemia and in 4 days am there already...

It boggles my mind.

So my question is...do you think people are less likely to support Lung Cancer research because they think people 'do this to themselves' with cigarettes? Almost the way society throws out single moms because it is their fault they are single....

Maybe that thinking is what we need to try to change.

just some thoughts

melissa

[yellowbow]

The other week I got on QVC there community forman. THe one that any thing go ( with in Reason) I talked about this and haveing a month that just told about all kinds of cancer to bring everyone to know about . And than told about lung cancer. I had quite a few people reply and agree. Also told them about this site. And helped a woman decide to call a freind who has lung cancer,she was afaired too ,but she called her and felt good about that and now they are going to me. The Q is going to have a shoes on sale WEDNESDAY 18 at 7pm eastern time. It comes from NY Well Jane Trasey host it I'm going to email her and ask if she could mention lung cancer. Anyone can email her. Just go to QVC.com look for host and email her. Her sister had BC and her mother died from bc. But maybe if we say in away about lc she will say something.

Elton John was on the Q last Friday. He said he would raise mony for any group. Too bad we couldn't get him.

Prayers to all

[Froggiegirl62]

I am pretty sick of all the pink also. There was an e-mail circulating which features an animated woman "walking the world for breast cancer." The user is to use her own city name as the subject line and send the e-mail on to anyone on her address list. I have received this e-mail a few times. Just a couple of weeks ago, I received it again and changed the word breast to LUNG and sent it to everyone on my list. I have not received it back, but it was worth a shot.

Hope I am not stepping on any toes by naming a website, but www.choosehope.com has all types of awareness merchandise for many different kinds of cancer, including lung.

[Mskim]

Well, I am all for raising cancer awareness all around but you always hear EARLY DETECTION EARLY CURE for BC but I have heard just as often 'there is no cure for Lung Cancer, only treatment that may lead to a prolonged life' though this statement may be false I just wish there was more fund raising and awareness for LC, it has always been the 'deserved disease' but maybe now that there are more reports of lung cancer with no history of smoking, it will 'deserve' more attention. Boy this really must irritate me becasue now I am rambling!!!

one final thing

At my moms funeral, the cousins bought a giant pink carnation funeral arrangement in the shape of a cancer awareness ribbon. It was HORRIBLE.

okay, I will stop being ugly now.

[RandyW]

If I catch Flak so be it but I had to post this part of an article about this subject.

The breast is associated with motherhood and nurturance and also sex. Those are things that hold a lot of appeal and are highly valued in our culture," says Samantha King, author of "Pink Ribbons, Inc.: Breast Cancer and the Politics of Philanthropy."

Savvy marketing has boosted the breast cancer brand since the women's movement of the 1970s. Just as women were being encouraged to talk about their health issues, companies were looking for ways to profit from cause marketing.

Critics say that if companies are concerned with a cause, they could just donate money. But some breast-cancer organizations say they welcome the parade of pink products.

"We love it. The more, the better," says Lisa Wolter, executive director of the Orange County affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. "You see a pink-ribboned beach cruiser going down the boardwalk and you think, 'There's somebody who cares about breast cancer and finding the cure.' "

Wolter says the Komen Foundation is careful about setting up financial relationships with corporate sponsors.

"We make sure our logo is used only when there will be a meaningful donation from the product or service, and that the customer can clearly understand it from reading something on the product," Wolter says.

Products include Playboy Beauty's $42 Gloss & Go pink lip gloss keychain with the Playboy bunny printed on top. Playboy doesn't disclose the sales percentage it promises to donate to the Komen Foundation.

Wolter cited KitchenAid, Chevron, Serta and Quilted Northern Bath Tissue as having year-round commitments to the foundation. They each have donated more than a million dollars. In return, the companies get the business of millions of supporters.

"People who care about breast cancer – survivors, co-survivors – are all very brand-loyal when they know that a company is in the cause with them," Wolter says.

In some cases, companies spend more on the marketing than they actually donate to the cause.

The maker of Post-It notes, 3M, spent $500,000 in 2004 on a public-relations campaign to stick a seven-story pink ribbon of Post-Its in Times Square. The company then donated $300,000 to a breast-cancer charity, according to an article in PR Week.

Many companies promote their donations but never disclose the amount or the recipient.

Viacom will pass along "profits" from its $6 SpongeBob PinkPants stuffed toy to "various breast cancer charities," according to a company news release.

This month, Campbell's Soup will sell pink cans of its tomato and chicken noodle soups. According to a statement, the company will "make a donation that will benefit breast-cancer awareness initiatives across the country."

"Corporations don't have to say what they end up giving, and it's really hard to find that information," says King, who researched the topic as an associate professor of women's studies at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

And the pink promotions clearly pay off. Campbell's sold 7 million pink soup cans to Kroger stores for October – double the typical order, according to Advertising Age. The same article cites a 2004 consumer survey showing that 90 percent of shoppers think positively of companies that contribute to a cause and are willing to switch brands for that reason.

Irvine-based Kyocera Advanced Ceramics donates $5 to the Komen Foundation from the sale of every $70 pink-handled, special-edition chef's knife. More than $75,000 has been donated so far, a Kyocera spokeswoman said.

"We started this a few years ago, before everyone else had jumped into the bandwagon, especially in regard to kitchen accessories," said Trish Gray, marketing manager of Kyocera, which makes ceramic knives and other kitchen products. "It seemed to us like a natural for the kitchen and to be able to give something back. We think the tie-in's just beautiful."

But some advocates say all the perky pinkness on lip gloss, nail polish and teddy bears can give women the impression that breast cancer is not a serious disease. While the five-year survival rate approaches 95 percent if the disease is caught early, more than 40,000 Americans die of the disease each year.

"Death doesn't sell. We've become used to talking about breast cancer as a rite of passage as opposed to this oftentimes deadly disease," King says. "That largely has to do with corporate interest in the disease."

Perhaps most disturbing to some breast-cancer advocates are the companies such as Dial and Revlon whose pink products have been studied for possible links to the disease.

Chemicals in deodorants, lotions and makeup have been researched for their estrogen-like qualities. The chemicals were found inside breast tumors in a 2004 study, according to the National Cancer Institute. More research is needed to determine whether the chemicals are a cause of the tumors, according to the Institute.

So despite the rosy glow that greets shoppers this month, scientists and patients still have a long way to go in the war against breast cancer, says Barbara Brenner, a two-time survivor and executive director of the San Francisco nonprofit Breast Cancer Action.

"As long as people think that by buying something they can help solve the breast-cancer problem, they're being misled," she says. "If we could shop into a cure for breast cancer, it would be cured already."

CONTACT US: 714-796-6880 or bbernhard@ocreg

So buying a Pink car means I support breast cancer research??