Why no sponsors?

It drives me crazy, too.
It drives me crazy, too. Proctor and Gamble, the makers of Always, is a BIG supporter of breast cancer awareness, by the way. Last year (or maybe the year before....I forget) they gave away pink kitchenware with $25 purchase of P&G products.

I would love to see gynecological cancers under one umbrella, for the purpose of raising funds and/or awareness. Women's cancers are all so closely related, you would think that would be a no-brainer. I can tell you why it won't happen, though. The Susan G Komen Foundation is big, big business. In 2010, SGK raised $ 272,971,918 in cash donations race entrance fees, etc (contributions of goods and services were another $56,873,320). They paid out $44,874,086 in salaries and benefits, or just under 20% of cash donations. That's not a bad ratio, but Nancy Brinker, the charity's founder and CEO, received a salary in excess of $500,000. Call me jaded, but it seems to me that a woman devoted to fulfilling a promise to her dying sister would be willing to settle for a smaller piece of the pie. Just think how many more low-income, uninsured women could receive mammogram screening, if only Ms Brinker weren't quite so greedy.

Race for the cure? Did you know that SGK will not allow you to participate unless you raise at least $2300? Did you know that SGK has sued other non-profits, or threatned to sue, for using the words "pink" or "the cure" in their slogans/literature? And they pay out over a million dollars a year - of donated money - in legal fees to "protect" their trademark turf, even against other breast cancer charities. Sue Prom, who started a small dog sledding fundraiser for breast cancer called "Mush for the Cure" in Grand Marais, Minn., received notice from Komen that she would face legal proceedings if she did not change the name of her event.

The tsunami of pink has overtaken everything in its path. It has become THE charity of choice, not just for individuals, but for huge corporations, as well. I doubt out little trickle of teal will ever come close to gaining that kind of public attention. And the saddest thing of all is that we - the women who suffer from breast, ovarian, cervical, and other female cancers - are the losers in this battle.

Carlene

baseball
MLB is having a "Bat against Breast Cancer" game on Mother's Day. Nice, huh?

kikz said:

I just posted on the WWOH
topic that when I Google ovarian cancer walk, the closest one I find is in southern California. I live about 75 miles from San Francisco which is a pretty big city and 30 miles from San Jose. I am amazed that there is nothing in this area. Well I guess I am not really amazed. I am jaded as you are Carlene. In this world if something isn't lucrative no one is interested in it. I think it will be up to us to do something about this even if in a small way. I sent an email to the Oprah show before my surgery in June 2010 suggesting ovarian cancer as a topic for the show. I don't know what their policy is but I didn't get a response. My cousin wrote two letters and no response. When someone on the board suggested we contact our congressman regarding cancer drug shortages I sent emails to my congressman who both happen to be women! They are Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein. Once again no response. I want to do something but am not sure what I can do if no one will listen. When I Google ovarian cancer there are only 3 websites that come up which are strictly for ov/ca. Maybe if we unite, we can do something. We are a small group but we are in danger of losing our lives. Isn't that important enough to make someone care about us? I also remember someone suggesting Angelina Jolie as a spokesperson. Kelly Ripa does work on behalf of ov/ca. I am sorry to go on so long but it is frustrating.

Karen

Ovarian Cancer
Hello all,

I do not have ovarian cancer but I do have cervical cancer. I know what you are talking about, as I am working on getting the sports team to change there ways, why is everything PINK? if you are going to do pink then you should do all the other cancers!! and I believe they should change from just pink to Lavendar (that is the color for all cancer)
I am also sick of everything being PINK.

leesag said:

Makes me batty!
I have a few suggestions for where they can their bats!



Leesa

I was at Kaiser today
getting blood work for my CA125 and next to the radiology department was a big pink banner with info about you know what. Hanging in front of the check-in was a big pink ribbon. Talk about rubbing my nose in it.

Karen

Hissy_Fitz said:

The big cancer centers are
The big cancer centers are really missing the boat here. I think they would get more patients from other gyn cancers if they would not buy into the pink mentality so completely. I think THEY should be the ones to push for consolidation of all gyn cancers and put the full force of their names behind it. Instead they have sold out to the pink horde. Why? It makes the rest of us feel like stepchildren.

Breast cancer is far easier to detect early, and consequently it claims fewer lives, proportionally .

Carlene

spillover benefit
Who knows? Maybe some of that breast cancer research will spillover and help us teal sisters...sigh.

kayandok said:

Last night
I watched Barack Obama's sister on Piers Morgan. She wrote a Chidlren's book and talked about her mom and grandma dying and the impact it had on her to write this book. When she mentioned that her mom died, I SOOO wanted her to say, "She died of OVARIAN CANCER, and there are still many out there still dying from it, because they don't get the funding that BREAST CANCER does and the treatment is still the same as it was 50 years ago!" I know I was being idealistic, but what an opportunity she missed!

The PINK thing really bugs me too, even the nurses at my hospital wear little pink ribbons above their badge.

k

Pink ribbons
I feel the same way you do about the missed opportunity on TV...sigh...

About those pink ribbons: someone GAVE those ribbons to those nurses...too bad I cannot afford to pass out teal ribbons and ask the nurses for "equal time." Hahahahaha!

I agree - but there is a big one!
Hey ladies and gents!

I am on the board of directors for OVARIAN CYCLE!! www.ovariancycle.org so far we have raised over a million dollars to go to Ovarian Cancer early detection test. The event is based out of Atlanta but we are in our eight year and have expanded to Seattle, Boulder, Florida and New York!

contact me if you want more details on how to get involved or if we can get one in your city :-)

From a dedicated daughter,

Lauren
laurenwhitmore@aol.com

Hissy_Fitz said:

It drives me crazy, too.
It drives me crazy, too. Proctor and Gamble, the makers of Always, is a BIG supporter of breast cancer awareness, by the way. Last year (or maybe the year before....I forget) they gave away pink kitchenware with $25 purchase of P&G products.

I would love to see gynecological cancers under one umbrella, for the purpose of raising funds and/or awareness. Women's cancers are all so closely related, you would think that would be a no-brainer. I can tell you why it won't happen, though. The Susan G Komen Foundation is big, big business. In 2010, SGK raised $ 272,971,918 in cash donations race entrance fees, etc (contributions of goods and services were another $56,873,320). They paid out $44,874,086 in salaries and benefits, or just under 20% of cash donations. That's not a bad ratio, but Nancy Brinker, the charity's founder and CEO, received a salary in excess of $500,000. Call me jaded, but it seems to me that a woman devoted to fulfilling a promise to her dying sister would be willing to settle for a smaller piece of the pie. Just think how many more low-income, uninsured women could receive mammogram screening, if only Ms Brinker weren't quite so greedy.

Race for the cure? Did you know that SGK will not allow you to participate unless you raise at least $2300? Did you know that SGK has sued other non-profits, or threatned to sue, for using the words "pink" or "the cure" in their slogans/literature? And they pay out over a million dollars a year - of donated money - in legal fees to "protect" their trademark turf, even against other breast cancer charities. Sue Prom, who started a small dog sledding fundraiser for breast cancer called "Mush for the Cure" in Grand Marais, Minn., received notice from Komen that she would face legal proceedings if she did not change the name of her event.

The tsunami of pink has overtaken everything in its path. It has become THE charity of choice, not just for individuals, but for huge corporations, as well. I doubt out little trickle of teal will ever come close to gaining that kind of public attention. And the saddest thing of all is that we - the women who suffer from breast, ovarian, cervical, and other female cancers - are the losers in this battle.

Carlene

the first "coral" ribbon
I refuse to do anything with the Komen foundation for the reasons you stated. Nancy Brinker is a corporation. She has gotten very wealthy from her sisters death. I see it as the marketing of woman's cancer, keep running for the cure instead of running for Prevention! I do support thinkbeforeyoupink.org and bcaction.org.

Samantha King describes in her 2006 book, Pink Ribbons, Inc: Breast Cancer and the Politics of Philanthropy how breast cancer has been transformed from a serious disease to a market-driven industry of corporate sales pitch. below is a link about the lady who started it all with a "Coral" ribbon.

http://journeyingbeyondbreastcancer.com/2010/10/12/origins-of-the-pink-ribbon-2/