Breast Cancer Awareness Needs Action, Not Just Pink Ribbons

As the fall season begins and the colors begin to change to the autumnal golds, maroons, and oranges, there is another color that is virtually everywhere: pink. The pink ribbon that represents breast cancer awareness is essentially universal, especially in October, which is the official Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

This month, there will be all kinds of merchandise that will be marketed in the name of breast cancer awareness. Ribbons, stickers, T-shirts, socks, coffee mugs, water bottles, pins, personal care products and infinitum.

As a breast cancer survivor, I find this to be a bit of a double-edged sword. First, there are many products and services that will temporarily come stamped with a pink ribbon or sticker for breast cancer awareness, and some of these purchases may result in a small donation to breast cancer organizations.

Donations and fundraising are obviously key to cancer organizations, to assist in research and support services. Second, it is absolutely true that some women will be diagnosed with cancer after being encouraged to get screened this month, to get that mammogram that they may have been postponing.

Although this month is rife with prompts for people to pay attention to their bodies, get screening exams, and seek medical attention if they find a problem, I can promise that for the people in the breast cancer community, no reminder is necessary. Breast cancer awareness is not just a month for those of us who have lived through it — it is now a lifetime. A lifetime of painful memories, of sadness, of loss.

Whether it is loss of friends/loved ones, loss of one’s own health or breasts/body image, or simply the loss of emotional security that was there before cancer, before life was upended — the scars are very real and long-lasting. We live this every day. We don’t need a pink banner or a ribbon to remind us that breast cancer is a reality.

What we need is change. We need new treatments. One of the more common hormone blockers, tamoxifen, has been used in breast cancer treatment for almost 50 years. Though many people tolerate this medication well, there are many others who do not, who have severe side effects such that they must change or stop treatment. How is it that in the past 50 years, there haven’t been any new medications developed to replace tamoxifen (for premenopausal women)?

The group that REALLY needs new treatments is the metastatic breast cancer community. These patients will be in treatment for the rest of their lives. They will be on one treatment indefinitely, until it stops working, and then they move on to another, and then another, until there are no others. We need money going toward research to find the next breakthrough medication that will help metastatic patients live longer and live well. All the pink knickknacks and trinkets that show up this month aren’t going to help this group.

What if we as a society made a concerted effort to direct the money, energy, and awareness toward research that can truly make a difference and save lives? What if we recognized that breast cancer isn’t about cute feminine pink ribbons? We need more. More information, more research, more and better treatments, more recognition that breast cancer’s physical and emotional effects aren’t confined to a month on the grid of a calendar but instead are etched into the essence of every survivor’s psyche.

Consider these things when the calendar flips to October. This year – and every year. Better yet, consider it every day.

This piece reflects the author’s personal experience and perspective. For medical advice, please consult your health care provider.

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