I just want to point out one thing about this “think pink” fundraising phenomenon. What is rarely mentioned in these fundraising organizations’ pleas for money is their hidden agenda or agendas –and their agendas vary widely.

For instance, Breast Cancer Action concentrates in looking for CAUSES of breast cancer, especially environmental causes. Makes sense to me.

But how about the Susan G. Komen Foundation, which is the one that most often encourages the buying of pink products? From what I can see, this organization may well have some troubling ties that we might want to know about before donating money to them.

For instance, an article by Mary Ann Swissler, “The Marketing of Breast Cancer,” claims that the Komen Foundation “helped block a meaningful Patients Bill of Rights for the women it has purported to serve since the group began in 1982,” and that Nancy Brinker, the organization’s founder, is irrevocably tied to conservatism and to George W. Bush, in particular.

One or both of these points might well bother some of those who donate to Breast Cancer through this organization.

On my website, http://www.honestmedicine.com, I have posted several very interesting articles that take a skeptical look at both the Cancer and Pharmaceutical Establishments.

Among them:

The Mary Ann Swissler article, cited above.

“The Chemo Concession,” the subtitle of which is “Cancer Docs Profit from Chemotherapy Drugs.”

And “Breast Cancer and the Hype Over Herceptin.”

I urge your site visitors to find these articles by going to the links on the left side of my site, and looking under both “CANCER” and “PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES.”

I hope you find these articles interesting!

Julia Schopick
http://www.honestmedicine.typepad.com

Litlove, I’d forgotten about your research leave — I hope that’s going well. Doing good things is a matter of balance. You do what you can where you can and as long as you give more than you take, don’t you think that’s pretty decent human behavior?

Helen, Stefanie, Dorothy, Patry — Thank you.

Mr.dad — What terrific stories. Yes, I think work and doing business make sense. It can’t be all breast, all the time.

Another woman I work with had to explain to me about having to leave work suddenly on a previous day. It was a side effect of the medication she was taking. What can do? I asked. Give me work to do, she said, laughing. She’s someone who laughs a lot.

So I perhaps understand a little bit where you’re coming from with this and that maybe work and doing business can go on your list along with orchids and chocolates.

Those words stood out for me.

May beautiful, lustrous pearls grow out of all those irritations. The pearls that are your words inspire me.

Hard to imagine you slouching around in goth-like black attire, but fun to try, I must admit!

Take care and dream and live in whatever colors suit you best.

~Love and Blessings,
Selene~

 Carl and Courtney, What you say is very helpful. It’s not an either or thing, is it? The truth is that people should speak up about what they care about and demand that things improve. In the long dark teatime of my soul, I suppose I find it difficult to make my way toward my own truth with all the noise about how I am supposed to experience my life. It’s very similar to parenting, actually — there are strong story lines about being a parent and I find myself irritated with those too. In the end, there has to be room for lots of stories.

I like your ideas of what to give a person (who is suffering from any malady)…one thing we can all do a better job of is trying to stay away from the pat catchphrases we use when we feel inadequate but want to show our support and care to someone fighting an illness and try to personalize our love and support to make it more meaningful and more real.

In the end, and what I’ll get to in a post before the month is out, though, is I would take this sort of in-your face, over the top pinkness any day, over the same and secrecy breast cancer used to suffer from. At least now, we are making a statement, grasping hands in some sort of solidarity, and urging researchers further and further towards finding successful treatments.

I’m wearing pink today, mostly because work requires me to but a little bit because it makes me feel good, too .
Take care, bloglily.
Courtney