Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Does it make us more aware?
Breast Cancer Awareness Month. What does that mean, anyway? I find it hard to believe that, at this point, people aren’t aware of breast cancer. In the US, about 1 in 8 U.S. women (about 12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime. Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women. In 2015, it’s estimated that just under 30% of newly diagnosed cancers in women will be breast cancers. That’s insane. Every one of us knows someone who has been affected, and yet everywhere you look, there’s some bogus promotion or product you can buy to “support breast cancer awareness.”
Personal connection to breast cancer
As the daughter of a mother who lost her battle with breast cancer at 49 years old (I wrote about this last Mother’s Day), I have some feelings about the cause marketing — or “pinkwashing” — that happens in October every year. Pink is splashed across the internet, as if putting a pink ribbon something does anything tangible to help the cause. According to Karuna Jagger, Executive Director of Breast Cancer Action, billions of dollars are raised and spent in the name of “breast cancer awareness,” but because there are no legal requirements to report on these earnings, there’s no way to know what % is going to real research, treatment and prevention.
Examples of pinkwashing
Here are some of the worst offenders I’ve seen and heard so far:
1. A local grocery store selling pink ribbon pins and bracelets, marketed for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, with no mention of proceeds of sales going to any charity.
2. A local car company will put a pink license plate around your license plate when you buy a car! I mean, seriously?
3. A local lasik company and a local dermatologist will both make a “donation” to breast cancer” (what charity? how much? when?) when you sign up for a procedure. And this is a biggie, because lots of smaller businesses are doing this.
4. Mike’s Hard Lemonade has a pink ribbon on their packaging. In what bizarro world does alcohol and breast cancer go hand in hand?
5. Makeup marketed for Breast Cancer Awareness Month that contains cancer-causing carginogens.
Every time I check out at the grocery store and they ask me if I’d like to donate a dollar to breast cancer research, I feel myself tense up. How many people are making this donation with no idea how much of that dollar is going to research, prevention or treatment, if any at all? 10’s of millions of dollars are spent on pink stuff and you have to ask yourself, how much of the money you’re spending on that item actually goes to a cause you care about?
How you can help fight breast cancer during Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Cause marketing isn’t a bad thing; it can create customer loyalty while helping good causes. But has breast cancer awareness marketing gone too far? How much of this marketing is done solely to help companies’ bottom lines?
Maybe I’m jaded, but buying a bunch of stuff you don’t need is not a good way for you to support breast cancer awareness, research and prevention.
Here are some actual ways you can help this cause during Breast Cancer awareness month.
1. Make a donation to one of your local breast cancer charities. There are so many smaller, local charities in every community doing incredible work. Many of them are on the ground, providing preventative care. Your smaller donation is sure to go a long way to an organization like that.
2. Take charge of your health. Talk about breast cancer with your doctor and get tested for the breast cancer genes. Knowledge is power, people. Knowing your family history and discussing your options with your doctor can save your life. If you carry this gene, your lifetime risk of getting breast cancer goes from 12% to 50+% and your chance of getting ovarian cancer increases significantly as well. Get tested.
3. Volunteer your time. There are so many ways to get involved, whether you’re a survivor, going through it now, or just want to help. Survivors can train to become a Reach for Recovery volunteer, someone who counsels other cancer patients get through their treatment.
4. Get involved in advocacy. The fight against breast cancer happens in our local, state and federal legislature as well as organizations fight for much-needed funds. You can make your voice heard in your city or state and make a big difference.
5. Get a mammogram or pay for someone else to get one. Mammography has cut breast cancer deaths in the US by 1/3 since 1990. That is truly a mind-boggling statistic. As we search for a cure, the best thing we can do is prevent breast cancer altogether, or catch it as early as possible.
On Friday, along with other local Houston bloggers and business owners, will be launching a campaign to raise money to pay for mammograms for the underinsured and uninsured. Stay tuned for details, we hope you’ll make a donation and be a part of something so important.
Thank you for raising awareness in a REAL way! Great post! – Wendie
Thank you for your kind words, Wendie!
Perfect post for this month!!! Thanks for posting!!!
Thank you Nikka!
awesome post!! this is def needed. more this and less scams 🙂
elle
Southern Elle Style
Agreed!!
As I have been saying: I AM AWARE, DADGUMIT! I agree 100% with this post. Want to help? Make a donation and steer clear of the ribbon stuff. Well done, friend.
Great post, I’ve also had some loss from breast cancer and some of the ways people use it to promo is very sad.
Haha exactly. We get it, we’re aware. Thanks!
Totally. I hate the pink washing but I’m glad so many recognize its not honest!
I really appreciate your view on this. I’ve always wondered why boobs have to rule the world (haha kidding, kidding…kind of), but I try to remind myself that people are just trying help. This is a GREAT post to get out there, so people who want to help can actually do so without being fooled.
Thank you Jaclyn, I appreciate that!
These are great ideas! I especially love the buying a mammogram for someone.
I always make a direct donation as I, like you, wonder how much is actually going to the charity. Thanks for raising awareness about this cancer, my cousin died young from it x
I totally agree – I am aware, I’m sure everyone is aware, but what are companies doing with the money they raise in the name of breast cancer awareness? Great point. I hope your article makes more people *think* before blindly buying something thinking they’re helping a cause.
I’ll be honest, I don’t have any issues buying pink things! haha But, this is really great information. Thank you so much for sharing. I have a friend who just found out she is in remission after having breast cancer, so we are praising God for that and I am so thankful for the leaps in medicine thanks to those who give so much to this cause.
Love this post! I actually just bowled for boobies on Sunday! 🙂 It was for the Avon breast cancer walk 🙂
We recently lost a close family member to Breast Cancer and these are some fantastic tips. Sadly Susan G. Komen doesn’t always allocate their donations properly so even there you don’t know if cancer patients or research will get fully funded. These are much better ways to help raise awareness and help yourself!
Thank you so much for this post. I’m sick of people trying to cash in on causes. You provided some excellent tips for actually helping
This is such a great post! Pinkwashing really irks me as well! I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the documentary Pink Ribbon, Inc but it is definitely worth watching if you haven’t. One of the experts they talk to on there says that Yoplait, for example, where you mail the lids in, even if you ate 3 yogurts a day for the entire month, it would still be a measly donation amount and the cost of the stamps almost cancels it out and you are way better off just donating directly.
Yes to ALL of this! I hate the pinkwashing that goes on in October and want to make sure my money is going to ACTUALLY help find a cure for breast cancer!
There are so many random things that people try to promote for breast cancer, I would rather give straight to the source.
I never knew that smaller businesses were not actually donating the proceeds to charity it just goes to show that you should always read the small print. I have had family members recover and some die from cancer and I always feel that a direct donation is more beneficial than a ribbon that does not indicate whether I have donated or not.
YES! I had pink marketing for the all the reasons you listed. As a nonprofit professional, its so frustrating.
These are great ways to fight breast cancer. It’s time for my mammogram and I’m planning to get it this year!
SO MUCH YES! I lost my Nana to Cancer… she fought for over 11 years, starting with Breast Cancer. It was rough watching her going through all of that. It was impossibly hard losing her. And it makes me SO FREAKING MAD that companies try to profit off of such a terribly disease that effects so many lives!
Hehehe love this!!! Pink is my favorite color, but I feel like the pink overload almost makes it so people forget what the real cause is!