Stand Up

Yesterday I learned that the Susan G. Komen Foundation had just pulled all of its funding from Planned Parenthood due to pressure from pro-life groups. This does not come as a shock to me as this organization has chosen to flex its muscles politically in the past and is quickly losing sight of what is truly important- ending breast cancer and supporting those touched by it. I was, however, shocked and please at the immense outcry against this move. When the funding cut was announced Twitter and all the other big social media platforms froze and then were flooded with activity. And while pro-lifers may be doing a victory dance, the donations that have come crashing into Planned Parenthood may very well make up the difference.

Most people, when they think of Planned Parenthood, think solely about birth control and possibly abortions. I always thought of them as a place to go if you couldn’t afford a pregnancy test or a pap smear, a place that educated women and helped those who couldn’t afford conventional health care. Only through my sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha, did I learn that Planned Parenthood also offered mammograms for low income women, educated them about monthly self breast exams, and the importance of early detection.

So why on earth would the Komen Foundation stop funding for this important cause?? Well, the pro-life groups didn’t like it and raised a stink. The imposed their religious beliefs on the charity and pressured them to cut the ties. It was cowardly and NOT something that Susan G. Komen would have stood behind. Of course the foundation’s base is scrambling against the backlash, even putting out a short little video in defense of their actions on their Facebook Wall. But people aren’t fooled. As of today Planned Parenthood has received over $400,000 in private donations, including a $250,000 donation from a couple in Texas. About 26% believe that the Komen Foundation made the right move in cutting off funding but the majority are rallying behind Planned Parenthood, signing petitions, and showing support any way that they can. Many news reports have come out since the announcement, like this one, and I am sure in the coming days more will be written.

Whether you are pro-life or pro-choice, when we start to politicize women’s health everyone loses. Again, we are trying to cure breast cancer through early detection and funding, not turn it into an arena of religious views. If you want to show your support please sign this petition, make your thoughts known, and shift your donations directly to Planned Parenthood.  This letter was sent from a supporter and I love it’s message:

This is for all the anti-choice, anti-women people out there.

Listen up.

You can spend every minute of every day trying to force the rest of us to live by your ideology. You can go after federal funds for health care and pressure private organizations like the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation to stop funding breast cancer screenings for poor women. You can try to make it impossible to get birth control.

But you know what you can’t do? You can’t win. You can’t break us. Planned Parenthood isn’t just a family of organizations. It’s a movement. It’s women and men of all ages who believe that health care — including reproductive health care — is a basic human right. We are millions strong. We are everywhere. We act, we give, and we do whatever it takes to make sure that Planned Parenthood is there for the women, men, and teens who rely on them.

Know this: When you go after Planned Parenthood and the people they serve, you go after ME. I stand with Planned Parenthood. I stand with them against anyone who wants to stop women from receiving the health care they need. I stand with them today, tomorrow, and for as long as I need to.

 

Thinking Pink

Yesterday I saw a table set up that was offering special pink ribbon license plates for your car to help raise money for breast cancer. Pink ribbons adorned the table and there were pink flowers, tee shirts, and all kinds of “awareness” pamphlets all over. And then I read this well written and thought out post about what is wrong with many most breast cancer organizations. And it got me thinking….

Sure, I have written before about why I don’t support the Susan G. Komen Foundation. But I never really thought about ALL the other marketing that is done to get people to buy pink. On the radio I am hearing lots of commercials for the 3-Day Walk here in Cleveland and wonder how much of all that money raised actually is going into real research and how much is being spent on litigations against other cancer organizations for using the word “cure”.

While I have thought about how wrong it was to develop a pink ribbon perfume, I didn’t think about the effect seeing a chesty spokes model for breast cancer might have on a woman who just got a masectomy…. how cruel. And cute little sayings like “Feel your Boobies” and “Save the Ta-tas” aren’t at all funny to a family who just lost their mother to this awful disease. I, like many others, have wondered what sort of financial system is set up to help families who are affected by breast cancer (and other cancers) and was shocked to read that there are virtually none. So even if you do survive, you are financially ruined. Where are all those funds now??

Let’s see…. $90 registration fee, a MINIMUM of $2,300 in fundraising, the total  money raised from just the Susan g. Komen 3-Day walks is in the $70,000,000 range! And none of that goes to families who are in financial need from breast cancer! Does that seem wrong to anyone else?  Not to mention all the merchandise who claim to donate or match profits…..

As a woman who has been affected by breast cancer first hand, I am shocked by how ignorant the masses are to this unbalanced way of thinking. How people will buy a bucket of fried chicken because it has a pink ribbon on it even though studies are showing that unhealthy lifestyles contribute to higher chances of getting cancer….

I wish I had a photo of my grandmother who passed away from breast cancer to share with you. She was a beautiful woman who had sparkling blue eyes, who loved to read to me, and who lost the fight after losing both breasts. It was a very long and hard road that I hope I never have to travel down. But if I do I want to know that EVERYTHING that could be done to help is being done and that precious dollars are not being squandered away. (Want to know more about “pinkwashing?” Check out this site!!)

I realize that there are many people who feel comfort being a part of the Komen events and that the intentions are good. My purpose about trying to draw attention to this is not to take away from the cause but to better support the cause, to truly fund research, and to find a way to include family financial support into the stream of fundraising. I do not see how the greater good is being supported by an organization who chooses to tear apart other charities for using a color or a word in their marketing, especially such as important word.

A CURE… isn’t that what we all want?

cartoon by Mike Adams, http://www.NaturalNews.com

Think Before You Buy Pink

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the bombardment of pink ribbons is everywhere from yogurt to yoga pants. Race for The Cures are going on nationwide and it is so easy to get caught up in the cause because indeed, it is a good cause. But, there is a dark smear on this crucial campaign to look “for a cure”- which by the way, is apparently a trademarked phrase belonging to the Susan G. Komen foundation. Now, let make make it clear that I am not against breast cancer research or organizations that are trying to honestly put an end to all these needless deaths. Those are the good guys. What I have a problem with is all the marketing going on that doesn’t really support the cause it claims to.

Breast cancer is one of those diseases that has impacted almost everyone in one way or another. My grandmother lost her life to it, my sorority has educated millions of women on early detection, and I had a lumpectomy for a suspicious lump my senior year of college. People are told to save lids, buy pink, and race to raise money to find a cure. But in reality, it seems that the Susan G. Komen foundation has lost sight of their cause and instead is more focused on going after other charities for using phrases, creating perfumes that are offensive to recovering survivors, and marketing the multitude of products sporting the famous pink ribbon. It is sickening, as is the choices Komen is making when deciding who is going to carry the brand. Is slapping the pink ribbon on a bucket of KFC Chicken really such a great idea to raise funds? Never mind the fact that fried food causes obesity which increases the odds of developing cancerous tumors.

I believe that there needs to be more awareness made about environmental causes for cancer, lifestyle changes that need to be stresses, and less “buy this lipstick and we will donate $.05 to cancer research”. It is true, the Komen Foundation supports Planned Parenthood, give low income women free mammograms, and educates. But doesn’t it seem a bit contradictory that many of the products that are supposed to help pay to cure cancer actually perpetuate it?

Maybe I wouldn’t be as upset if this was anything other than a charity. Something that is supposed to be really helping people find, not spending millions of donor dollars in legal fees. And while I applaud those who run the 3-Day events for not only surviving but triumphing above this disease, I am saddened that such a well-trusted name would become such a bully. Isn’t finding a cure the whole point? So what if a small town in the midwest wants to “Swing for a Cute”? Isn’t the money still going to the same place?

The bottom line is while it is fantastic to support breast cancer- and all cancers for that fact- it is more important to make sure that your money goes where you want it to, donate to the American Cancer Society or to research facilities directly. Yes, it is very important to have a sense of camaraderie against this evil, but not for the sake of sacrificing smaller charities who only want to find a cure as well.