Last year many ladies were posting colors as their Facebook status. So much so that the news talked about it. I’m sure men and women who didn’t get the message were curious as to why there were was a rainbow of colors clogging their news feed. It happened to be the color of bra they were currently wearing. Somehow this was supposed to bring attention to breast cancer. I get the link- bras support breasts.
Then it was “I like it on the ___”, which often made people sound…well…. I won’t go there. But it wasn’t about sex (which is what people were led to believe if they weren’t in the know). It was about the location of where they liked to keep their purse. The link to bringing attention to breast cancer? Yeah…thats tough, because I can’t seem to find one.
Recently it was your shoe size but to add inches to the end (I wear a shoe size 9, so I would have written 9 inches). Again, this was somehow supposed to bring attention to breast cancer.
And now it goes a little something like this “I am __ weeks and craving __”. All is based on a chart of your birthday. This not only fails to bring attention to breast cancer, it makes some people sound trashy. I’m sorry, but its true. Do you really want your 13-year-old daughter participating?
So here we are, one month away from Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and we’re bringing attention to breast cancer in all the wrong ways. You may not know this about me, but each day at work we diagnose women and men of all ages with breast cancer. I’ve tested tissue samples of young teenage women who have been positive for breast cancer. It’s not just a disease that strikes older women. Its women of ALL ages and men too!
Breast cancer is a heartbreaking disease! I’ve known so many women who have battled, some who have won and some who have not. Joe’s aunt passed away from breast cancer, leaving behind two kids, a husband, four sisters, and many family members. My next door neighbor growing up battled breast cancer. A number of women in the church I grew up in battled breast cancer. My sorority sister lost her mom when she was a little girl from breast cancer. My coworker beat breast cancer. A young woman I’ve met through infertility struggles is scheduled to have a double mastectomy soon because, if she fortunate enough to get pregnant, her likelihood for getting breast cancer is extremely high due to genetics and the increased hormone levels pregnancy brings on. Shall I continue on?
Then there is the link of breast cancer to the status game. Something someone is my infertility forum posted that needs to be known- “11,000 women under the age of 40 are diagnosed each year with breast cancer and many are treated with chemo. For these women, nearly 80% are left infertile as a result. The same is true for men with breast cancer treated with chemo. How does posting a fake pregnancy announcement honor these women who may never experience that?”
It frustrates me that we’re bringing attention to all the wrong things. For people with breast cancer, vague status messages about random things doesn’t tell their story. It doesn’t help them, encourage them, or even cure them. For people with infertility, fake pregnancy announcements really hurts. Try spending years attempting to have a baby and others think it’s no big deal.
Instead of us participating in these, for lack of better word, stupid games through Facebook, why don’t we all post the name of someone who has battled breast cancer and impacted our lives. And challenge your friends to do so too. Think of the news worthy movement that could be started. We’re remembering those who have fought, those that won, and especially those who we’ve lost. If we start posting important things, statistics, or links to donate to research (such as Susan G. Komen), we can actually make a difference.
