|
||||
October 13th is Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day. One might wonder why it is necessary to parcel out a specific day during the month of October to take note of something like metastatic breast cancer (BC Mets). After all, the month is already dedicated to breast cancer awareness. Don’t we already know everything there is to know about this . . . → Read More: Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day: October 13th 
Beth Gainer is an author and breast cancer survivor who writes the blog, “Calling the Shots.” She frequently posts excerpts from her upcoming book with the same title, Calling the Shots: Coaching Your Way Through the Healthcare System. The book is a primer for how to advocate for oneself through a difficult medical landscape. It includes information about finding the . . . → Read More: “Faun and Me” 
Lani Horn (a.k.a. Chemobabe) is a social scientist in her “regular life.” She created ChemoBabe as a persona who could “talk back bluntly to the euphemistic ways people skirt the horror of cancer in everyday conversations.” Lani shares her experiences and concerns about pink culture, the breast cancer Cause, and the industry that sometimes seems to focus more on reproducing . . . → Read More: The calendar comes back to it each year. The day she found out about her breast cancer. 
The breast cancer movement that came into its own 20 years ago succeeded in bringing attention to breast cancer as a women’s health issue. It brought breast cancer out of the closet, injected federal funds into breast cancer research, created some support systems for certain groups of women, and made inroads with public policy. For a time, the pink ribbon . . . → Read More: “What I wish people knew about breast cancer…” 
Kathleen Kolb is a home care physical therapist, artist, and writer. She was diagnosed with Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS) in May of 2008 and began writing a blog about breast cancer about six months later called The Accidental Amazon. Kolb’s blog received the 2011 Royal Purple MAAM Award, in which her nominator wrote that, “The Queen of Snark is . . . → Read More: Broke: The Cost of Breast Cancer 
In the last several years I have been engaged in public sociology to spur open and constructive dialogue about what is working and what is not working in the increasingly commercialized and superficial world of breast cancer. During this time and throughout my academic career I have worked with a network of individuals from diverse backgrounds and affiliations . . . → Read More: Announcing the Breast Cancer Consortium 
Christie Aschwanden is an award-winning freelance writer and editor. She is a contributing editor for Runner’s World and was a contributing editor for Health from 2000 to 2010. She has been a contributing writer for Skiing and her articles and essays have appeared in more than 50 other publications including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington . . . → Read More: The false narratives of pink ribbon month, redux 
A version of this essay was published on September 27, 2012 on Girl w/ Pen, a collectivity of feminist scholars, writers, and thinkers who publicly and passionately dispel modern myths concerning gender. — “I too used to secretly look forward to October, when I would drape myself in pride with all manner of garish pink, survivor-emblemed merchandise and take my . . . → Read More: Promises of Hope. Not Cure. 
Support for Susan G. Komen for the Cure has been on the decline ever since it made the decision earlier this year (2012) to disqualify Planned Parenthood from applying for grants to offset the costs of breast cancer screenings and clinical exams for low-income women. Komen reversed the decision after three days of public outrage, but the organization continues to . . . → Read More: As Komen’s brand falters, some are calling on Brinker to lead 
It’s nearly impossible to take a vacation from pink ribbon culture. Even an escape to the sandy shores of south Jersey doesn’t guarantee entrée to a ribbon-free zone. To a great extent that’s because breast cancer activists did such a good job raising awareness about the importance of the breast cancer epidemic. Unfortunately, after that little pink ribbon transmuted . . . → Read More: Changing the Conversation about Breast Cancer, One Conversation at a Time |
"women urged to get screened because it might save their lives. But that’s only 1 possible outcome, and it’s the least likely one" @cragcrest cutt.ly/jei8WJr 
 |
|||
| Copyright © Gayle Sulik 2025 Pink Ribbon Blues - All Rights Reserved - Images on this site are used for the express purposes of commentary and criticism under the fair use doctrine. | ||||
