Im Offended by discriminatory Breast Cancer Awareness

[Orlong]

I fail to understand why you're offended by something that isn't REALLY hurting you or anyone you know. I mean, no one can force you to wear anything pink. There is a prostate awareness month as already mentioned. Instead of coming on here whining about something like this, how about you read up and become more informed on the subject and take matters into your hands. Go out into your community and work with hospitals in your area to set up something to inform more people of prostate and lung cancer. Do you really think the whole breast cancer awareness thing exploded one day? Nope!! It all starts somewhere and YOU doing YOUR part would help things a bit I'm sure.

You're right, its not hurting me personally, but the fact that the limited amount of research money is all being funneled toward the cure for just ONE type of cancer takes away the ability for organizations to help find a cure for other types because all the money goes to breast cancer reasearch, and in the end that CAN hurt me and many other men who will likely end up with prostate cancer

[Chirri]

Why? Because nobody cares about men's health. There are a few reasons for this, but the results show. I can only talk numbers for my country (the US), but look at the difference in spending on women's health vs men's health.

Women are supposed to be beautiful creatures worthy of protecting at all costs. Men are seen as disposable and taught that their health is not worth the cost. Look at the number of workplace deaths in men vs women. Girls are taught that there is nothing more important than their health, boys are taught that their health comes second to monetary gains.

Men's health was the only kind of health medical practice has cared about for centuries. It was assumed that research into men's health was equivalent to human health, but it's become apparent that this is clearly not the case. Women's health is more of a priority than it used to be, which is another way of saying that scientists have come to realize that women's bodies aren't identical to men's, but with extra fat around the chest area so it's actually getting attention.

Which isn't to say more money's being spent researching women's health rather than men's health - I actually don't know, and if it is the case, well, I suppose that's good for my health, but there may also be a good bit of catching up to do.

That said - yes. Men are discouraged from actually taking care of themselves. Mind you, you're not discouraged to do so by women. You're discouraged from taking proper care of your bodies by other men. Taking care of yourself, being concerned, is consistently considered to be the opposite of masculine. It's wrong, and it's unfair, and that shit needs to stop. It's going to take a cultural shift (that, I hope, doesn't tumble down "LET'S HATE WOMEN AGAIN!" alley), but I'd say that shift isn't too far down the line... unless all these metro feigning boys decide they suddenly want to be "manly men" as they grow older.

You're right, its not hurting me personally, but the fact that the limited amount of research money is all being funneled toward the cure for just ONE type of cancer takes away the ability for organizations to help find a cure for other types because all the money goes to breast cancer reasearch, and in the end that CAN hurt me and many other men who will likely end up with prostate cancer

For the love of kittens, puppies, and guppies. Breast cancer is not a single type of cancer. It's not.

[Laize]

Putting the pink ribbon on your product is a subconscious way of making the buyer associate your product with breasts. You never see a lung cancer sticker on a box of cheerios do you? Well lung cancer kills more than 2 times as many people as breast cancer. It is a marketing strategy. And the pink ribbon company hardly does anything to find a cure for breast cancer because they have a huge overhead due to all the expensive events they put on and the employees they need to pay.

Actually, charities are like any other business. You need to spend money to make money.

High overhead doesn't necessarily mean a bad charity. It means they've spent a lot of money on events and employees which, if well run, will generate far more than they've spent.

You COULD have a non-profit that had revenue of $10 million and overhead of 15% leaving $8.5 million available for the actual charity. The alternative is you could have a company that spends $30 million on marketing and takes in $50 million in revenue. That's 60% overhead but FAR more actual money for the cause itself.

[Wells]

Yeah overhead in absolute numbers isn't meaningful, though if you're donating you should absolutely look at overhead as a portion of overall expenses as that's often a warning sign for BS charities.

[s_bushido]

It is a marketing strategy. And the pink ribbon company hardly does anything to find a cure for breast cancer because they have a huge overhead due to all the expensive events they put on and the employees they need to pay.

See, this is a legitimate reason to be less than happy with all the breast cancer hype. Unfortunately, the OP didn't raise any of these concerns in his initial rant.

There's nothing wrong with awareness, but it can be exploited just like anything else.

[Maelle]

You're right, its not hurting me personally, but the fact that the limited amount of research money is all being funneled toward the cure for just ONE type of cancer takes away the ability for organizations to help find a cure for other types because all the money goes to breast cancer reasearch, and in the end that CAN hurt me and many other men who will likely end up with prostate cancer

So in your logic, if the money wasn't being funnelled into breast cancer it would be going somewhere that might benefit you if you got prostate cancer... thats not how things work for the record

[Laize]

Yeah overhead in absolute numbers isn't meaningful, though if you're donating you should absolutely look at overhead as a portion of overall expenses as that's often a warning sign for BS charities.

Not arguing there.

I'm simply saying you shouldn't choose to donate or not based solely on overhead.

Don't think you're doing a good thing by donating to a charity that pays its employees garbage (Nonprofit employees are NOT volunteers) and uses dated equipment while not hosting events.

[fizzbob]

people like to feel they're doing good even if they really aren't. reality doesn't matter in society, perception does.

[Mexa]

That didnt answer my question. If the simple solution is to remove the breast why dont we just do it and move on trying to cure other cancers that cant be cured by simply removing a body part

would u cut of your penis if u had penis cancer ?

It is not desirable to live without breasts or one breast for many women and breast cancer can be so easy to spot if you try. Its not that no body cares about other ppls cancer, its just that u cant really check yourself for prostate cancer and lung cancer and the such.

The campaign is in no way meant to shadow other problems, it is only meant to shed light on this issue. Just like there are days dedicated to honor some of our fallen troops or maybe to honor someone who has died in an accident, those days are not there to tell you that other ppl havent died, its just there to honor those dead ppl. Just like we now shed some light on the awareness of breast cancer.

[Punks]

Speaking as someone who has lost both Grandmas, a aunt and a cousin to breast cancer.

I say a SERIOUS FUCK YOU ORLONG. FUCK YOU. FUCK YOU.

I dont give a fuck if I get banned. Fuck you you POS. This is a serious GD thing. Ughhh

[Laize]

would u cut of your penis if u had penis cancer ?

It is not desirable to live without breasts or one breast for many women and breast cancer can be so easy to spot if you try. Its not that no body cares about other ppls cancer, its just that u cant really check yourself for prostate cancer and lung cancer and the such.

The campaign is in no way meant to shadow other problems, it is only meant to shed light on this issue. Just like there are days dedicated to honor some of our fallen troops or maybe to honor someone who has died in an accident, those days are not there to tell you that other ppl havent died, its just there to honor those dead ppl. Just like we now shed some light on the awareness of breast cancer.

You can check yourself for prostate cancer.

I don't know that many would call it a pleasant experience, however.

---------- Post added 2012-10-04 at 08:37 PM ----------

Speaking as someone who has lost both Grandmas, a aunt and a cousin to breast cancer.

I say a SERIOUS FUCK YOU ORLONG. FUCK YOU. FUCK YOU.

I dont give a fuck if I get banned. Fuck you you POS. This is a serious GD thing. Ughhh

All cancers are "a serious GD thing."

I think that's what the OP was getting at. I seriously doubt he doesn't give a shit about breast cancer. He just doesn't think it's more important than others.

[poser765]

You're right, its not hurting me personally, but the fact that the limited amount of research money is all being funneled toward the cure for just ONE type of cancer takes away the ability for organizations to help find a cure for other types because all the money goes to breast cancer reasearch, and in the end that CAN hurt me and many other men who will likely end up with prostate cancer

This is, quite possibly the longest stretch to find reverse sexism I have ever seen. Ever. Recap, you are mad at people giving money to support breast cancer research because that money could potentially be used to fund prostate cancer research...a cancer you don't even have?

Wow. /slowclap

Of all the things to get angry about out there in the world, this seems pretty far down on the list.

I will agree that it is kind of strange how some diseases become trendy. Breast cancer certainly is trendy. Aspergers is also really trendy right now. Oh and diabetes. Not trendy as in "damn I wish I had autism" but trendy in that they seem to be discussed a lot in popular media.

[Deleted]

I'd think its probably worse to be honest, since the only way someone can tell if you're missing a ball is if you're waving your junk around. There's a huge body image issue attached to breast cancer.

My first intuition tells me you don't have any balls. That's just what I get from this, no offense. :P

Infracted

[Laize]

Oh, by the way. I'm an actual, factual cancer survivor, Orlong. Do you see me losing my shit because no one will donate to find a cure for lymphoma?

Yeah, get over it. Some people have cancers that hit closer to home.

The thing that confuses me is why BCAM says "save the tatas" on babydoll tees on 20 year old girls... when the age group for their cure is generally women 55+ for whom gravity has taken control.

Not that I think one is more deserving of a cure than the other.

[Thepixelpatriot]

"You cant remove a prostate"

Yes you can my father is in prison with prostate and bladder cancer. He is having them both removed this fall.

[Laize]

"You cant remove a prostate"

Yes you can my father is in prison with prostate and bladder cancer. He is having them both removed this fall.

Wait. Without a bladder, doesn't that mean piss will just be leaking out of his body all the time?

That fucking sucks....

[Orlong]

Speaking as someone who has lost both Grandmas, a aunt and a cousin to breast cancer.

I say a SERIOUS FUCK YOU ORLONG. FUCK YOU. FUCK YOU.

I dont give a fuck if I get banned. Fuck you you POS. This is a serious GD thing. Ughhh

Infracted

Nice of you to call me names... I never said breast cancer wasnt a serious issue, I simply am stating that I feel it is unfairly promoted when millions of people are dieing from a multitude of other cancers and nobody seems to give a damn, they only promote breast cancer research

[mizeri]

because if you dont then you are sexist so company's do it to avoid that.

[Deleted]

because if you dont then you are sexist so company's do it to avoid that.

Haha my thought exactly.

[Llocke]

I registered just to say that, despite the relatively angry ranting post, I agree completely with the OP.

Breast cancer awareness has gotten way out of hand. Breast cancer is a JOKE. The annual death rates for breast cancer weigh in at about 5% or less - and most of those statistics are taken from women age 55++, where "natural causes" deaths tend to skyrocket. Death rates for women under the age of 50 are astronomically low.

Now, let's look at something that gets no media attention whatsoever: Pancreatic Cancer.

Pancreatic Cancer has a 95% death rate, and long-term survivors (5 years or more since diagnosis) are never in the clear. Every day that they exist stricken with Pancreatic Cancer, they're basically waiting to drop dead with little warning. Pancreatic Cancer patients would look at all the pink ribbons and laugh, if they were still physically capable of doing so.

Why is breast cancer so popular? 98% of the time, it only effects women. 95% of the time, it's non-fatal. It's one of the most benign cancers of all time, and yet there are still billions of dollars spent yearly on TV commercials promoting its awareness and demanding its cure. Why do these women think they're entitled to so much media attention for such a small issue? Oh, right. Breasts and media just go hand-in-hand.

It makes me cringe every time I hear "We'll never stop walking until a cure is found" on the radio. If real problems like prostate cancer, lung cancer or pancreatic cancer had even a hundredth of the media coverage of breast cancer, we might be funding better treatments and actually saving lives.