October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
And that’s it, or so it seems.
Breast cancer foundations, particularly the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation and Save the Ta-Tas, have stolen the spotlight in the autumn month.
Fundraisers are held everywhere, and retailers put out pink versions of their merchandise. Even the gods of the gridiron in the NFL adorn themselves with pink gloves, wristbands and shoes, exposing a sliver of mortality among their otherwise immortal image.
The point is that everyone gets involved.
While it’s heartwarming to see such a large populous rally around one cause, the surgical blade cuts both ways.
Save the Ta-Tas and I Love Boobies are clever marketing schemes that allowed potentially fatal diseases to devolve into a joke that’s been branded on bracelets and horny teenagers’ T-shirts.
Breast cancer and its related initiatives overshadow an already dark aspect of life. The American Cancer Society estimates that 571,950 Americans lost their lives to cancer in 2011. Roughly 39,970 women lost their battle with breast cancer last year.
But more than 70,000 women suffered and passed away from lung and bronchus cancers, the leading cause of death.
While we stand behind organizations in the fight against breast cancer, we ask that other diseases not be overlooked.