Unless you are brain dead, you know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  This makes lots of people feel just wonderful about themselves because they believe they are helping to “fight” cancer.   This may come as a surprise to you, but some of us who actually have cancer thoroughly loath and despise this hoopla and exploitation of our dreadful disease.  Of course I would like to see a cure for cancer and I can certainly relate to my breast-cancerous sisters.  But, like everything else in America, cancer has become a “brand” to be marketed and exploited and I find all these “awareness” campaigns positively repulsive.  And breast cancer is the poster child for the whole cancer exploitation industry.

Believe me, for someone who has had to deal with melanoma, esophageal cancer, prostate cancer, chemotherapy, radiation, and two surgeries, a bunch of NFL football players running around in pink shoes is not going to make me more “aware” of cancer.  I can assure you, nobody is more aware of cancer than I am.

You will find that for several years a lot of people who actually have cancer share my opinion. When the Dallas Cowboys “pinked” their stadium for a game in October 2011, the New York Times wrote, “Like it or not — and some people don’t like it at all — the pinking of America has become a multibillion-dollar business, a marketing, merchandising and fund-raising opportunity that is almost unrivaled in scope.”

If you really want to know how despicable the cancer exploitation industry is, google “pinking of America” or go to Breast Cancer Action (www.bcaction.org).  I don’t think you will be surprised to learn that not a great deal of what you spend actually goes to cancer research and prevention? One example from bcaction.org will suffice:

“How much money goes towards breast cancer programs and services? For example, Yoplait donates 10 cents for every pink yogurt lid mailed back, meaning you’d have to eat three yogurts a day during the entire four-month campaign in order to raise $36 for the cause.” Of course, you will also have purchased 360 pots of yoghurt.  Pretty good deal for Yoplait.

Go on Amazon (which has 20 pages of cancer--predominantly pink--merchandise) or any promotional products web-site and you will find an extraordinary array of items to get you to spend money to raise cancer “awareness.”  You can get ribbons, jewelry, mugs you name it.  You might want to buy them in quantity, then sell them to make money.  (Most of the money raised by these promotional products and campaigns actually does not go to cancer research but you could make a buck.)

A lot of cancer “endurers” like me (I hate terms like “cancer victim” and “cancer survivor”) find it objectionable how cancer is exploited not only for blatant profit, but how it is also exploited to boost tv ratings and sell magazines.

You have all seen the tv shows that parade beautiful little children with chemo-bald heads smiling at the camera as the hosts gush all over them and tell you how “courageous” and “inspiring” they are.  No, they are very, very sick little kids who have no idea what’s happening to them and they are being paraded in front of tv cameras so whatever show it is can make you feel it is passionately caring (and get you to tune in again).  It’s cancer as show business!  

A recent People Magazine cover featured TV host Joan Lunden looking absolutely gorgeous despite her chemotherapy-induced baldness.  The cover headlines declared that Joan “fights cancer,” “I will beat this” and her “inspiring emotional journey.”  She is just smiling away and totally upbeat in the article.  It’s almost as if she’s saying, “Wow, cancer can be fun!”  Believer me it’s not.

Fortunately, October ends tomorrow and the pink onslaught will fade away until next year.  But, never fear, you can still “fight” cancer in November which is National Pancreatic Cancer Month so you can go out and buy yourself a lavender ribbon.

Post script:  If you really want to contribute to cancer research and prevention do what www.bcaction.org  recommends.  You can easily research organizations that truly expend their donations on research and give directly to them.  Many other types of cancer do not get much research money because they are not so highly promoted as breast cancer.  You won’t get a ribbon but you will know what you donate will be used for what it was intended.