Pink Sisters, I Feel Your Pain

Did you know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month? If not, you must live under a rock! We are constantly reminded of this by the sea of pink surrounding us. Some of us call it Pinktober because of the pink obsessiveness; I have even heard breast cancer patients call it "Puketober."

While the other cancer communities (like my melanoma community) drool at the amount of awareness and recognition all this pinkness brings to breast cancer, many in their community believe that the pink campaign is excessive and not delivering the right message. A giant case of be careful what you wish for ...

And I get it. All the pink ribbons have not given the breast cancer patients a cure; they have not given advanced stage breast cancer patients much in the way of hope. Don't get me wrong. Awareness is great, but I think there is a saturation point ... and in my opinion, it has been breached!

As I discussed in my blog "Pinktober," businesses are profiting from Pinktober more than breast cancer patients ... and there is definitely something wrong with that picture. But it goes further than that. There are campaigns to save the boobies, save the hooters, save the ta-tas ... but what about saving the men and women who have breast cancer.  Sexualizing a cancer will not cure it.

Unfortunately the breast cancer community is struggling with playful pink as their awareness color and brand as well as all the fun and games supposedly created for awareness. Decorating bras might be a fun thing to do, but probably not a great reminder to those who no longer have a need for bras. We all know, or at least we should, that there is nothing fun or playful or party-like about any cancer. It trivializes those fighting for their lives and disrespects those whose lives have been lost ... and it sure doesn't cure cancer!

This video points out how out of control Pinktober has become:


In the melanoma community, we understand too well what the breast cancer community is feeling as far as having their cancer trivialized. We have heard way too many times -- "Melanoma? Oh, that's just skin cancer. Cut it out and you'll be fine." And perhaps you remember back a couple years when the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) tried to turn melanoma's awareness color of black to orange. Black was too depressing, they thought ... NEWSFLASH, melanoma IS depressing! They wanted something more bright and cheerful and attention-getting (like the sun that caused many of the cases of melanoma???).

For Melanoma Monday, a day reserved not only for spreading awareness but also for honoring melanoma warriors and remembering our fallen, the AAD encouraged dermatologists and their staff to wear orange and throw parties, with orange cupcakes, confetti, and streamers. Can you imagine being given a life-threatening melanoma diagnosis in the midst of such a party or by a doctor blowing orange party favors?


So, I understand what it is like to have a cancer presented as less evil than it really is, especially one that has severely impacted your life and broken your heart. The marketing people who come up with these ideas of fun and playful awareness obviously have never held a loved one with cancer in their arms while they took their last breath. Their approach is thoughtless and insensitive and, sadly, ... it doesn't cure the cancer!!

Many in the breast cancer community and beyond will be grateful to see November push out Pinktober because it has gone too far! The need for breast cancer awareness has passed, and the pink ribbon has now ventured into commercialization. And to make matters even worse, breast cancer patients feel their cancer is being trivialized and sexualized. The pink has gone amuck ... and does all this really help in the search for the cure?


 Melanoma Mama (Jaime's mom, Donna)

http://www.facebook.com/donna.h.regen
http://www.facebook.com/jaime.regen.rea (Remember Jaime)
https://www.etsy.com/shop/sweetpea321 (Jjem Creations)
http://stores.ebay.com/Sweetpea321 (Jjem Creations)

Bzzzing for a Cancer Cure

Lately, we have been reading about a lot of bizarre "possible" cures for cancer. Most recently I have written blogs about the miraculous cure possibilities of smelling farts (Pull My Finger...Save a Life) and then came the amazing potential of cat poop (From Litterbox to Laboratory) as THE cure. And now today, part 3 of this suspenseful trilogy just streamed into my newsfeed.

It seems everyone is buzzing about the discovery that the venom from bees, scorpions, and snakes may offer the promise of a future cure (Bee, Scorpion, and Snake Venom May Hold Cancer Cure) using nanotechnology. It's all very ssssslick ssssscience, and here is another article about the role of nanoparticles in curing cancer (Nanoparticles -- The Next Cure for Cancer), but,

could we just please find a cure for cancer already???


(Side note: Speaking of venom, where you aware that the male duck-billed platypus, which carries venom inside ankle spurs, is one of the few venomous mammals? Consider your life enriched with this piece of trivia!)

But back to the bees, scorpions, and snakes (Ugh ... gives me the creeps but it's for the common good!!). Actually, the idea of venom-based cures from fangs and stingers is not new. There is history of their use as far back as 67 BC. And the Brazilian pit viper venom has led to development of ACE inhibitors for high blood pressure. So perhaps this line of research isn't quite as bizarre as it might first appear, but,

could we just please find a cure for cancer already???


When my daughter Jaime was fighting cancer, there was talk about birch tree bark and mushrooms as a cure for her melanoma. NCI wanted to inject her with the herpes virus for their research. Some of her fellow melanoma patients were getting jolts of electricity. It's good that scientists are reaching ... really reaching and thinking outside the box ... to find a possible cure for cancer, but,

could we just please find a cure for cancer already???


Over the years, so many "encouraging" possibilities as cures for cancer have been suggested -- red wine, coffee, pine bark, peanut butter, blueberries, antioxidants (and then not antioxidants), vitamin C (or maybe vitamin C makes cancer worse), and even tanning beds according to the indoor tanning industry (but NOT to be believed). Just do a Google search for cancer cures -- cannabis oil, zebrafish, gold, cow urine, aspirin, frankincense, sloths. What the heck is a sloth anyway??? So it doesn't seem like I am asking too much when I plead,

could we just please find a cure for cancer already???

Now, I admit that I am not a patient person. But billions of dollars have been donated to cancer research over the many years of our "War on Cancer," and sadly, as you read this, way too many cancer patients are clinging to life, hoping and praying for a cure. It is too late for my forever-29-year-old Jaime and our family, but a cancer cure could make a huge difference in the lives of millions of others. So please keep these warriors and their families in mind when you experiment with cat poop parasites and odiferous gases and "nanobees," and maybe, just maybe,

could we just please find a cure for cancer already???


Melanoma Mama (Jaime's mom, Donna)

http://www.facebook.com/donna.h.regen
http://www.facebook.com/jaime.regen.rea (Remember Jaime)
https://www.etsy.com/shop/sweetpea321 (Jjem Creations)
http://stores.ebay.com/Sweetpea321 (Jjem Creations)