Reflecting on my recent trip to Disney World, I cannot help but feel a little aggravated. This aggravation came to fruition when, looking through recent “cancer talk” blogs and articles, I stumbled upon this beauty…

This October was National Breast Cancer Awareness month and at every turn there was a pink ribbon staring me in the face. There were pink ribbons on jackets, pocketbooks, backpacks, pink ribbon pins, pink ribbon tee shirts, pink ribbons on sneakers (I do not exaggerate). I felt as if I was being drowned in a bottle of Pepto Bismol. Pink can be seen now in the NFL and on numerous foods, drinks, and other produts. The reasons for my aggravation are divergent and multifaceted. Some of these reasons are selfish. Where were all the orange ribbons in September for Leukemia awareness month? I survived leukemia and was unaware that there was a month dedicated to a disease I “fought”. Should fellow leukemia survivors have less of a following because we do not have any cool taglines like “Save the Ta-Tas” to associate with our cancer? Is it because leukemia cannot be sexualized in the same way breast cancer can? When I removed myself from the suffocating pinkness that filled the streets of the Magic Kingdom, I could not imagine how women who suffer from or survived breast cancer would feel. There is a solace in knowing so many people join together in the pinkness and search for the cure but when is enough enough? How far do people have to go to garner attention for “the cause”? To know breast cancer survivors is to know that they do not look like the woman in the Tao advertisement. I have never felt less sexy and feminine as I did during treatment and I still have my breasts. There is nothing sexy about cancer. I still feel less pretty, sexy, and less feminine than I did before cancer. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, complete hair loss, constant medications, being bedridden, dependency, lumps, scars, ports, tubes, blood, and bruises do not scream turn on to me (Unless you’re into that kind of thing).

I am not alone in my struggle with coming to terms with the marketing associated with cancer. A fellow blogger and “cancer thriver”, Erika Lade, discusses this phenomenon in a blog titled “Breast Cancer Awareness: Why Does My Cancer Have a Logo? “ Lade writes: “But a paramount reason I think I was unable to connect to a community of cancer patients was that my particular cancer, breast cancer, has seemingly been taken over by a logo and a color and a marketing scheme, all of which with I have been unable to identify. I am, of course, referring to the pink ribbon. This symbol, for all the money it has raised, has for me very little meaning and, in fact, feels contrary to a representation of what I have been through.” Later she says: “To take this disease and cover it in pink glitter gives it a bubble gum appeal that, to me, does not raise awareness, but rather makes opaque and glamourizes the difficulties those of us with this cancer have faced. It also allows people to believe they are actually doing something and are helping and are informed when, in fact, they have simply peeled back a pink yogurt lid, bought a bag of pink-ribbon-stamped cookies or even a pink bucket of fried chicken.” There is little to no thought for the masses of consumers that flood the supermarkets and shopping centers and line up with pink products. Im sure those touched by breast cancer in any way are more aware and purposeful in their purchases and the foundations they fund. However, somewhere along the way the message of the little pink ribbon got lost in the supply and demand of our culture. America is the place where there is business to be made in everything but making a business of cancer is just too much. The business of our failing health care system problematizes cancer enough. Education about the disease and the education about where the minute funds (that admittedly add up) go is the key to helping find a cure. Buying the pink bucket of fried chicken is not going to save anyone’s life–committing to a cause and being educated about that cause will. In a way I am thankful I do not have a mass marketed cancer. I do not have to face the daily reminder of pinkness at every turn.

A friend of mine that spent the greater part of my month long hospitalization got a tattoo in my honor. It is a two inch orange ribbon on his hand. I have witnessed people ask him why the ribbon is not pink. It is sad that the saturation of pink covers up the other colors of cancer but, that in itself is problematic. The colors of cancer dilute the message. It waters down the importance behind the ribbons. Yes, buying a pink energy drink will insure a whole penny of your purchase goes to breast cancer research but is that really enough? It is something, yes. It is something to be grateful for, yes. But in this world colored pink, isnt there room for the message behind the colors as well?

The article in which I found the Tao advertisement can be seen here.