I'm going to take this month off in honor of those women who are dealing with breast cancer, who have won - in living and in death, by being strong, being weak, being tough, being sensitive, being true, faking it until they made it, and walking their days with their heads held high, or low, because they kept and keep putting one foot in front of the other.
See you in November.
(PS - I imagine several of you will lose track of me with that month of no posts. I want to thank you for your readership - you've been a great audience for venting, teaching, and learning.)
Sunday, October 7, 2018
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
It's that Time of Year - Pinktober -
Here we go again - pink ribbons EVERYWHERE, posters and billboards and ads reminding women to have their mammograms in abundance. I even say a pickup truck decal, in pink, today saying, "Save Second Base." Seriously? That's all breasts are good for - for a partner (or #metoo) to feel them up?
And what I want to say is this;
I survived breast cancer, and I am reminded, every. single. day. that I went through surgeries, 8 chemo treatments, 33 radiation treatments, numerous days of sick leave, numerous days of low blood counts, numerous times of hydration, numerous days of NOT being able to spend time with family, friends, and numerous days of no teaching. And that was all in a 9 month period.
And since my treatments finished on April 18, 2013? Time, effort, energy, focused concentration to heal - numerous days spent just freakin' getting better. And what did I lose - I've relayed that in this blog over the years; suffice it to say, that just now are my losses and gains beginning to even out.
Yet - what about those women who lost their "boobies," "ta-ta's," "2nd bases"? And what about those women who lost their lives because of these "titties"? Or even those women who aren't in remission, or who are, but know damn well their cancer will some day, some how, be back in their lives, or that even the words pink, cancer, boob-bees, sends them into an anxiety attack, and rightfully so?
Is "My other boob about killed me," really worth joking about? Does making light of the women whose other boob did or will kill them really funny? Valid? Worthwhile? When was the last time you saw a t-shirt or a bumper sticker or a billboard on I-15 say, "Where are those family gems now?" "I lost my gonads but have my life." "Don't squeeze those balls too hard." "Save the bat and balls," or anything that in a pink-free, cancer-free world may be seen as crass and not publishable?
Would you want your life, your disease to be a commercial? Are breasts a commodity that can be bought and sold during October? Has corporate America exploited cancer for monetary gain - played on the emotions of losing a body part? And the donation percentage made to breast cancer organizations is often so miniscule as to even make this a laughable gesture (last year I saw, in the "reduced" section of a craft store, pink beads, with "A percentage of this sale will be donated to a breast cancer organization," stamp, reduced by nearly 90%). Big donation, hey!
Why does Breast Cancer Awareness Month (and beyond) get more media play than any other cancer? Sexy? Value? Monetization? Multi-gender buy-in? Perhaps valuing the woman is more important than valuing her body parts - just sayin'.
If you want to make a difference, rather than buying some cute pink thing/tool/shirt/socks in the store, donate to Living Beyond Breast Cancer or the American Breast Cancer Foundation. And - just an FYI, breast cancer research benefits all other cancers, so the funding, regardless of cancer you feel is over-looked or un-important, does benefit from breast cancer research.
And, in case you were wondering, I've written about Pinktober over and over and over again, and the links are below (pics disappeared, don't know why). Happy October!
And what I want to say is this;
I survived breast cancer, and I am reminded, every. single. day. that I went through surgeries, 8 chemo treatments, 33 radiation treatments, numerous days of sick leave, numerous days of low blood counts, numerous times of hydration, numerous days of NOT being able to spend time with family, friends, and numerous days of no teaching. And that was all in a 9 month period.
And since my treatments finished on April 18, 2013? Time, effort, energy, focused concentration to heal - numerous days spent just freakin' getting better. And what did I lose - I've relayed that in this blog over the years; suffice it to say, that just now are my losses and gains beginning to even out.
Yet - what about those women who lost their "boobies," "ta-ta's," "2nd bases"? And what about those women who lost their lives because of these "titties"? Or even those women who aren't in remission, or who are, but know damn well their cancer will some day, some how, be back in their lives, or that even the words pink, cancer, boob-bees, sends them into an anxiety attack, and rightfully so?
Is "My other boob about killed me," really worth joking about? Does making light of the women whose other boob did or will kill them really funny? Valid? Worthwhile? When was the last time you saw a t-shirt or a bumper sticker or a billboard on I-15 say, "Where are those family gems now?" "I lost my gonads but have my life." "Don't squeeze those balls too hard." "Save the bat and balls," or anything that in a pink-free, cancer-free world may be seen as crass and not publishable?
Would you want your life, your disease to be a commercial? Are breasts a commodity that can be bought and sold during October? Has corporate America exploited cancer for monetary gain - played on the emotions of losing a body part? And the donation percentage made to breast cancer organizations is often so miniscule as to even make this a laughable gesture (last year I saw, in the "reduced" section of a craft store, pink beads, with "A percentage of this sale will be donated to a breast cancer organization," stamp, reduced by nearly 90%). Big donation, hey!
Why does Breast Cancer Awareness Month (and beyond) get more media play than any other cancer? Sexy? Value? Monetization? Multi-gender buy-in? Perhaps valuing the woman is more important than valuing her body parts - just sayin'.
If you want to make a difference, rather than buying some cute pink thing/tool/shirt/socks in the store, donate to Living Beyond Breast Cancer or the American Breast Cancer Foundation. And - just an FYI, breast cancer research benefits all other cancers, so the funding, regardless of cancer you feel is over-looked or un-important, does benefit from breast cancer research.
And, in case you were wondering, I've written about Pinktober over and over and over again, and the links are below (pics disappeared, don't know why). Happy October!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)