I do a lot of reading when I travel. Of course, these days the media has been focusing on breast cancer. I tend to skim over many of these article. Is it just me, or are you also suffering from breast cancer awareness, “pink ribbon” fatigue?
Don’t get me started! I will pay more attention once I see brown ribbons and accessories being worn by football players and flight attendants to help raise awareness for colon and rectal cancer. Or how about bright yellow ribbons and sun pins to help raise awareness for skin cancer? Actually, that’s not a bad idea!
Kidding aside, cancer patients do share a lot in common. Take a look at two profound examples I found in Cure Magazine and USA Today this past week.
“The cancer can live in my body as long as it wants, provided it’s a quiet tenant. And when it gets out of hand, we slap it down.”
Breast cancer survivor, Jill Coner, shared these feelings with writer, Heather L. Van Epps, Phd, in her article, The Estrogen Effect, in this fall’s issue of Cure Magazine.
I love that! It applies to our lives living with multiple myeloma too, don’t you think?
But let’s not stop there. In the Tuesday, October 16th issue of USA Today, writer Lisa Szabo wrote a fascinating article about the rare and very aggressive inflammatory breast cancer.
The article revolves around the story of breast cancer survivor, Terry Arnold. Near the end of the piece, Terry is quoted as saying:
“I don’t see myself as a cancer survivor. I am surviving.”
Terry reacts that way because this type of breast cancer is rarely cured. Sound familiar?
I can relate to both. I think I should add them to my list of “inspirational quotes” that I plan to share with you someday. So if you have any, please pass them along. I will be glad to quote you when the time comes.
Isn’t that “quiet tenant/slap it down” line great?
Feel good and keep smiling! Pat
October 17th, 2012 at 12:55 pm
Pink Ribbon fatigue. That is well put. I read that the NFL makes 40% off any pink item they wear and cancer research makes 10%. It is actually a money maker for the NFL. If we could just get donations directly to researchers, instead of turning to so many ‘fundraising’ items, we would have so much more money for research. I don’t have an answer to fix it, just dreaming I suppose.
October 17th, 2012 at 1:55 pm
If enough of us “dream,” we can change anything! I truly believe that! I wasn’t aware (but I’m not surprised) that’s the way their marketing deal works. My point would be that I feel bad for people involved with all cancers. Seems that breast cancer gets all the attention. Sometimes I want to scream, “But what about us!”
October 22nd, 2012 at 9:48 am
Recently when out for a walk I crossed paths with a very large parade of people marching and fund raising for ‘women’s cancers’. They stood out because they were wearing bright pink t-shirts. I talked with one of the organizers and pointed out that my form of blood cancer is also a ‘womens’ cancer (as well as a ‘mens’ cancer). So if breast cancer fund raising has been expanded to ‘womens’ cancers (which includes any reproductive type), then I suppose that myeloma researchers could also apply for funding from such a group. I am probably missing the point here, and I am glad that any kind of cancer funding is available for research, but sometimes people may forget that cancer could affect all of us, in differing forms.
October 22nd, 2012 at 1:36 pm
Good point, Nancy! But I should note that immunotherapy innovations being made in the fight against breast cancer (See my expose’ about that while I was at ASCO in June) should translate and eventually help us, too. So all cancer research is good. And myeloma does get more than its fair share, actually. Its because it is so easy to treat up-front. Lots of companies want to capitalize on that. Attracts research interest…