Sick and tired of rampant breast cancer commercialization
- From: J <ercent@xxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2006 04:13:31 -0400
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Sick and tired of rampant breast cancer commercialization Oct. 13, 2006.
01:00 AM
Re: Are we getting pinkwashed? (Oct. 6)
Samantha King's article on the flood of breast cancer awareness
merchandise was both timely and accurate.
As a breast cancer survivor, I am so sick of the commercialization of the
entire breast cancer campaign. T-shirts, duct tape, cellphones ? what are
they thinking?
I'm all for raising breast cancer awareness, but how about we start with
the family doctors. You know, the ones who send their patients home (the
ones who just found a lump in their breast) telling them that at 35, they
are too young to get breast cancer. No ultrasound. No mammogram. What
about breast cancer awareness for men? Both my father and my uncle died of
cancer that had spread from their breast into their lungs and bones. Janet
Boccone, Toronto
FINALLY, someone has written an article that we who are breast cancer
survivors can agree with. We are worn out by all the pink rip-offs trying
to "help" us when all they are doing is filling their coffers.
Thank you for your article.
Dotti Campbell, Crossville, Tenn.
I admire you for putting into print so many of my own thoughts about
fundraising for specific diseases. In some ways breast cancer is
considered "sexy" ? not in an erotic sense, but in it being "okay" to
have, to be public about, to support as a worthy cause. It really concerns
me as other devastating diseases are ignored.
When did you last see a bumper sticker "I survive schizophrenia every day
of my life", or a T-shirt emblazoned with "My sister is bipolar, I am not,
but neither of us is crazy".
No one sends baskets of fruit, bunches of flowers, or boxes of chocolates
to a psych ward patient.
How about a coin with a black centre for depression? Even better, make
those coins out of cardboard as a reflection of the worn-out attitudes,
patched together system, and general shabbiness of our society toward
one-fifth of its members.
Liz Powell, Elliot Lake
Kudos to Samantha King for voicing the opinions and concerns that I and
many of my friends have regarding the breast cancer campaign. I cringe
when October approaches simply because of the media blitz promoting Breast
Cancer Awareness Month.
Unless you have just arrived from Mars, I think the majority of
individuals, especially women, are "aware" of the devastations caused by
this insidious disease.
I am truly sick of the way we are being placated and manipulated into
believing that a cure is just around the corner. I am tired of being
"pink-ribboned" to death.
Christine Filippelli, Mississauga
Re: No woman, no cry (Sept. 22).
I wanted to comment on your article "No woman no cry". I think it was a
fantastic and informative article regarding the health of African Canadian
women. A lot of the information that is published regarding black women
and their health is often taken from the United States.
It's refreshing to have a Canadian perspective. I am a African Canadian
female of Jamaican descent with an undergraduate degree in kinesiology and
health science.
As black women, we are encouraged to embrace ourselves and our shape as a
part of who we are, which is very true.
But I wonder sometimes if we are fooling ourselves and if it's a defence
mechanism to have a strong sense of self in a society that tears us
down.We are internalizing a lot of stressors.
Black women can often spend their time and money on superficial things to
acquire their self worth. Ask a black a women how much she spends on her
hair and nails in a month and you will know.
As Canadians we often take pride in our multicultural society and often
feel superior to our neighbours to the south in regard to race and social
issues. But in truth, this is not the reality often experienced by many
minorities in Canada and we need to address this.
Dawn Vernon, Toronto
Stories like these are long overdue. It is not often that we read
thoughtful, poignant coverage related to health and wellness amongst black
women.
While everyone faces stress, I do agree that black woman's stress burden
is often a much heavier one due to endemic racism and bias, especially in
the workplace. I'm glad that this story was told and the truth has FINALLY
come out. I hope that the Star will continue to run stories that challenge
our perceptions and highlight issues in the multicultural landscape that
is Toronto.
Joyann Callender, Toronto
I am a 47-year-old teacher and of minority background (Muslim and
dark-skinned, an unfortunate combination if you live in Canada) and have
suffered from auto-immune diseases all my life.
Now I understand that "spirit injury" has been a huge part of my personal
and professional life in Canada as far back as I can remember. Truly, its
cumulative effect has landed me in hospitals several times over. Your
article provided an "aha!" moment and moved me tears.
Uzma Ansari, Toronto
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