Does breast cancer get too much publicity now?

You probably wouldn’t think so if you had it.

or lost a mother/sister/daughter/aunt/friend/wife to it

From what I’ve seen, Breast Cancer awareness acts also somewhat as a doorway getting people to also become aware of other cancers and helping those ones out as well.

Let me start out by saying that I am not a doctor nor do I play one on TV, so my understanding of cancer is not great. I do know a little however. There is not one single type of cancer that can be researched. Different cancers attack different parts of the body.

I have a friend now battling breast cancer. He happens to be male, but that’s beside the point. The point is that after his masectomy the breast cancer moved into his bones. That’s right. His bones are being attacked by the same type of cancer cells that were in his breast and not by bone cancer.

I, for one, am all for raising awareness of all types of cancer, but since breast cancer is so prevalent, I don’t believe it’s getting too much publicity.

Because of the breast cancer hype, I got better help and speedier treatment for my cervical cancer. It all helps all cancer patients.

@hawaii_jake Compare the hype breast cancer gets to lung cancer though, which kills more people every year than breast cancer. I’m not sure I buy the whole “it’s raising awareness and improving treatment for other cancers too” argument. Legally, the money that’s raised from it has to go to breast cancer research if that’s what it’s being advertised for.

@AIec : To be more specific, after I was diagnosed with an advanced stage of cervical cancer, I was on the radar and the local Breast cancer Advocacy group stepped in and expedited my treatment by arranging a lot of my appointments for me much more efficiently than I could have (I was a pretty sick puppy), finding the appropriate services for me and intervening with my insurance for better coverage. That group was funded by breast cancer supporters, but benefited many more cancer patients.

In your question, you didn’t specify research, you just said “publicity”.

Right on, @Blondesjon. I suspect @alec is a young male and not concerned about it. I just hope someone he loves doesn’t get breast cancer, and thank goodness for all the attention on this awful disease. What a question!

@Austinlad I would be just as annoyed if all the publicity was about prostate cancer.

@AIec . . . So you’re just annoyed at the cancer-specific? What a bunch of inconsiderate douchebags, trying to draw attention to the incurable disease that is killing them.

I don’t know, isn’t Male Erectile Dysfunction getting too much publicity with all those Viagra, Cialis and Levitra ads plastered all over my TV? Aren’t allergies getting too much publicity with the many different types of allergy pills and nasal sprays that harrass me every time I turn the TV on? Isn’t the Swiffer Sweeper getting too much publicity with all those commercials? Aren’t Geico and Progressive getting too much publicity with all the silly gecko and Flo commercials?

Grow a pair and donate to the cause.

NO.

Oh, now I get it—focusing attention on any kind of cancer irritates you. Less attention on cancer and more on Lady Gaga—right?

Is that really smart, alec?

Great question. I always wondered the same. We should be concerned about cancer in general, not just certain types. Breast cancer gets the publicity it does because it is funded by people who are concerned about it who donate more money than other cancers.

@Blondesjon You wouldn’t think the same if you lost a dad to colon cancer, an uncle to liver cancer, one best friend to brain cancer and another friend to colon cancer. Lets be fair here. All cancers suck.

I don’t think breast cancer get’s too much publicity at all but I do think that other cancers don’t get enough.

I am wondering if lung cancer kills more often , what would the reasons be that breast cancer is getting more publicity? There are reasons but I don’t know what they are. And what about
pancreatic cancer? Surely that kills more often, too but you never hear much. off to google

I’m just saying the whole thing seems a little bizarre to put that much emphasis on one type of cancer when it’s not even the deadliest one out there.

by the way, what about those “Save the Ta-Tas” breast cancer awareness stickers I’m seing lately. I mean they made me chuckle at first, until I realize that some jackasses are probably donating to breast cancer research only because they want women to keep their boobs.

@WillWorkForChocolate , I hold non-profit organizations and patient advocacy groups to a much higher standard than I do pharmaceutical companies and other corporations that are making a profit off a product.

It isn’t only the men who want to save breasts; women do as well. Yes, one is more likely to survive breast cancer, and maybe that is part of it. They are still around to tell the tales of what they went through and what life is like afterwards… to lots of other women.

And look at all the companies that have jumped on it from a marketing aspect. Here is an article that speaks to an interesting perspective. How many products are there that are tapping into the emotional side of today’s consumers?

@AIec : I don’t imagine that Julia Fikse really worries too much about why individuals donate. And, BTW, women want women to keep their boobs.

@Pied_Pfeffer : I couldn’t access your link, just got “page not found”.

@JilltheTooth I guess I’m just a little more concerned that someone keeps their lungs (or liver or kidney or pancreas or…) than their boobs.

@AIec Shame on me. I usually double-check them. Here it is.

@AIec ; I’m a little more concerned that someone keeps their life.

@JilltheTooth hmmm… did you really just miss my point entirely…

@Pied_Pfeffer , thanks for the interesting article.

November is Lung Cancer month. Probably see more “publicity” for it then. It’s also Pancreatic Cancer month. Since you’re upset by the attention breast cancer is getting, I hope you’re donating your cancer dollars to the groups that you feel are more worthy of your support. I feel that any awareness of any cancer helps to educate the public and get them involved. Maybe that’s why you aked this ridiculous question, to get people thinking about all of it. If that was your motivation, well, good on ya. If not, well, that’s just kinda sad.

I wore my special t-shirt today “Save the cupcakes! Check your boobies!” while I was out and about, just to see if it seemed to bother anyone. Nope. In fact I got quite a few compliments on it.

@JilltheTooth I don’t really care about any kind of cancer… at least not any more than I do about any other disease that kills people. It’s funny everyone is so quick to say “you would care if you lost a ___ to ___”. Uh, exactly, at least I’m being objective about it. Lots of diseases kill people. And relatively speaking, BC gets an overwhelming excess of the attention for no justifiable reason.

@Paradox . . . True, but I’m also not tagging any type of cancer awareness as an “annoyance”.

I donate my money to independant cancer research organizations that are not affiliated with the ACS or NCI.

I think all cancer should be cared for, i have cervical cancer and just finished with 6 weeks of radiation thereapy, im still healing and its been 2 months, so in my point of you whether its breast, cervical, lung, brain, colon, bone, skin or any of the many cancers that are out there we should fund and talk about it.

@bashfullady : I did the cervical cancer thing over a decade ago and I agree with you. I wish for you a full recovery, and don’t worry, your strength will come back soon.