| Author |
Topic: Sheryl Crow...breast cancer |
jcumming
Cool Runner |
 posted Feb-27-2006 12:04 AM
   
quote:
Originally posted by ferrellk:
Of all people, I am not belittling this issue.
Yes, I understand that and I also know get what you are saying. On reading this thread though it seems really bizarre that some people want heart disease to be worse, some seem to not want us to support causes with certain coloured wristbands, and so on and so forth. I'm not sure if there is a cure to be found, but I do believe many of these diseases can be turned into chronic ones while science continues to search. My wife was given 3 years to live from diagnosis...and lived 15, mainly in good health. No cure, but it was a funded clinical trial that allowed her to see her kids go from babes to adults...and I will support research as long as I'm breathing, whether it be a trendy one like Livestrong, or something not quite so trendy. I think this thread just got off on a sad tangent and I don't think anyone really means for it to be out there that way. Just debating points and discussion gone awry. No offense meant to anyone and none taken. But do get yourselves checked out. 
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ferrellk
Cool Runner |
posted Feb-27-2006 12:06 AM
quote:
Originally posted by jcumming:
But do get yourselves checked out.
Feeling my boobies as we speak.  TMI? 
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zzzinaaa
Cool Runner |
posted Feb-27-2006 12:09 AM
I just have to say, I have a Livestrong bracelet.
I was just using Lance as an example. I wish all disease/cancer research foundations had someone who could bring in that kind of money for research.
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wyrillco
Cool Runner |
posted Feb-27-2006 12:25 AM
JC, your grace in all of this is so great. We should all be so lucky as to have someone in our lives like you.You really said it well. I felt very emotional after reading this, as I am probably heading home to see my grandpa for the last time this weekend. I'm p!ssed off and sick to f-ing death of people I love dying. ------------------
Courtney
My User Profile
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jcumming
Cool Runner |
posted Feb-27-2006 12:33 AM
quote:
Originally posted by ferrellk:
Feeling my boobies as we speak.
And to add a touch of levity
ferrellk don't feel it's something you need to do on your own.
quote:
Originally posted by wyrillco:
JC, your grace in all of this is so great. We should all be so lucky as to have someone in our lives like you.
Thank you. I would usually put some smart alecky self put-down in here to show my humility, but tonight I think I will just leave it at "Thank You".
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wyrillco
Cool Runner |
posted Feb-27-2006 12:35 AM
quote:
Originally posted by jcumming:
Thank you. I would usually put some smart alecky self put-down in here to show my humility, but tonight I think I will just leave it at "Thank You".
And I'll just say "you're welcome". ------------------
Courtney
My User Profile
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Maureen61
Cool Runner |
posted Feb-27-2006 12:48 AM
quote:
Originally posted by jcumming:
Yes, I understand that and I also know get what you are saying.On reading this thread though it seems really bizarre that some people want heart disease to be worse, some seem to not want us to support causes with certain coloured wristbands, and so on and so forth. I'm not sure if there is a cure to be found, but I do believe many of these diseases can be turned into chronic ones while science continues to search. My wife was given 3 years to live from diagnosis...and lived 15, mainly in good health. No cure, but it was a funded clinical trial that allowed her to see her kids go from babes to adults...and I will support research as long as I'm breathing, whether it be a trendy one like Livestrong, or something not quite so trendy. I think this thread just got off on a sad tangent and I don't think anyone really means for it to be out there that way. Just debating points and discussion gone awry. No offense meant to anyone and none taken. But do get yourselves checked out.
thats all I meant................. Thanks, JC
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RioG
Cool Runner |
posted Feb-27-2006 07:21 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Maureen61:
Is a painful death, usually and often leaves young families without a Mom. Thats all............sigh
My SIL is batting a very aggressive form of breast cancer... she has a 10 month old son, and she has never had the luxury of enjoying her first child while healthy. She currently has a shunt in her chest with a tube that extends (under the skin) up her neck and down into her chest, where she receives chemo injections. The skin on her chest is red and raw from the radiation. Her right breast was removed, and as soon as her treatments are finished she is opting to have the left one removed as well. She had lymph nodes removed from under her arm, which, by her account, was the most painful part yet. But by far the most painful part is knowing that this horrible disease could kill her, leaving her little boy without a mother. She has lived the past ten months with this knowledge, and it will never really be over. Such a sad, terrible disease. 
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cgraz
Cool Runner |
posted Feb-27-2006 07:25 AM
quote:
Originally posted by zzzinaaa:
It's all in the marketing. Look at the billion yellow bracelets Lance Armstrong has sold to help find a cure for testicular cancer.
I guess the marketing isn't quite as good as it should be though...those bracelets and their "live strong" message benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which focuses on cancer survivors - all types of cancer survivors. "The Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) believes that in the battle with cancer, unity is strength, knowledge is power and attitude is everything. Founded in 1997 by cancer survivor and champion cyclist, Lance Armstrong, the LAF provides the practical information and tools people living with cancer need to live strong. Our mission is to inspire and empower people with cancer to live strong. We serve our mission through education, advocacy, public health and research programs." I do have one of these bracelets, and I do believe that knowledge is power. Unfortunately, "slick" marketing tends to focus on the quick, easy, superficial message...and I think that's what people are reacting to here. There's so much potential to use this kind of influence to educate people, but a lot of it gets lost along the way and people lose sight of what the real message is, or should be. I take the bad with the good, and figure for every person who pins on a ribbon (of whatever color) just because it's a trend, there are several others who pin it on because their loved one has fought the good fight, or they fund research, or they lost someone they loved. Bottom line is that we all need to do what we can to take care of ourselves and others. Our health and well-being is a precious gift, and whether it's our hearts, our breasts, our colons, or our minds...we need to take care of that gift. Being reminded of that is never wrong. [This message has been edited by cgraz (edited Feb-27-2006).]
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camelia bedelia
Cool Runner |
posted Feb-27-2006 08:23 AM
quote:
Originally posted by jcumming:
On reading this thread though it seems really bizarre that some people want heart disease to be worse
I don't want heart disease to be worse, jc. But the facts are that it does kill many, many more women than breast cancer. And while I think it is important that all women know their risk factors and how to check for cancer, those same women need to know that heart disease is likely a bigger risk for them and women need to know that. Awareness of heart disease in women (the differences in how it presents, on-set, myths about estrogen protection) is woefully low.
When I see mis-information being put out there as fact, I feel the need to say something. If it takes riding on the coat tales of the breast cancer movement to get attention to the realities of heart disease, then so be it.
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rockchalkchick
Cool Runner |
posted Feb-27-2006 08:34 AM
I want to apologize for my attitude last night - I was feeling argumentative and this was an easy place to take it out. What started as a mild point (that we need to be aware of all aspects of our health - cancer awareness and heart health) turned into a pointless argument - as JC said, boil vs freeze is a silly argument. I still feel that people are artificially frightened of cancer - partially because it is such an unexpected disease, often striking with little warning and at any age. Because there are so many aspects of cancer, and so many forms and causes (breast cancers stem from a number of causes, etc), it's difficult if not impossible to predict and prevent. But, all it takes is watching one family member or friend fight over a long time to see what an exhausting and emotional battle it is - I certainly would prefer my great-grandfather's quick heart attack while out bowling over my grandmother's 7 year battle and slow decline (the only two people who died in my childhood). Regardless of statistics, I should have been more sensitive to my wording in a public forum. One more thing before I slink away sheepishly - I feel the need to clarify my "pink ribbon" issue: I have nothing but respect for those who want to wear ribbons or bands of any color for any reason - it's their choice and anything to improve awareness is a great effort. The part that bugs me is the merchandising - the $27 lipstick that slaps a pink label on and promises to send 25 cents to the Komen foundation, the doggy chew toys I saw yesterday that had a pink center and said "chew up cancer" but the tag said nothing about actually donating proceeds at all, and so on. It just seems like such a commercialization of a real problem - slap on a pink ribbon and watch people buy it over anything else. The point I don't think anyone will disagree with - enjoy your health. I found out this morning that a coworker is back in the clinic with a Crohn's flare - he's facing the possibility of invasive surgery and a life with a colostemy bag at 25. Hard to argue the good or bad way to suffer - protect your health as much as you can, and enjoy every day.
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zzzinaaa
Cool Runner |
posted Feb-27-2006 09:36 AM
quote:
Originally posted by cgraz:
I guess the marketing isn't quite as good as it should be though...those bracelets and their "live strong" message benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which focuses on cancer survivors - all types of cancer survivors. [This message has been edited by cgraz (edited Feb-27-2006).]
Lance Armstrong Foundation Research Grants: Testicular Cancer
The Lance Armstrong Foundation is continuing research awards in 2002 with scientific ambitions of advancing the study of testicular cancer. Grants can be basic science, basic science translated to clinical issues, or purely clinical investigations.
Source
http://www.laf.org/Grants/Research/ Not only does it help survivers, it does in fact pour a lot of money into research.
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sistergoldenhair
Cool Runner |
posted Feb-27-2006 09:45 AM
quote:
Originally posted by RioG:
She currently has a shunt in her chest with a tube that extends (under the skin) up her neck and down into her chest, where she receives chemo injections.The skin on her chest is red and raw from the radiation. Her right breast was removed, and as soon as her treatments are finished she is opting to have the left one removed as well.
Such a sad, terrible disease.
This is another aspect of breast cancer: it is literally much more visible than heart disease. We can see the effects of battling breast cancer: scars, mastectomy (especially if reconstruction isn't done), some degree of disfigurement. Plus there are so many emotional attachments to breasts for many women: anything from nursing an infant to being part of sexuality and self-confidence. With heart disease it's internal.
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elkid
Cool Runner |
posted Feb-27-2006 11:11 AM
quote:
Originally posted by ferrellk:
Breast cancer, because it is seen as a solely genetic disease by many, is acceptable.
I still can't get past this. Acceptable to whom? And in what context? to support? to fund? Surely you don't mean to have.Maureen, I think you mean not cardiac arrest but MI (heart attack). Very different, as has been pointed out. The reason heart disease (the #1 killer for Americans, men AND women) is not given as much attention for women as it is to men is because most men get it in their "prime", while most women get it post-menopause. Delayed diagnosis = delayed public awareness, or so it seems.
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Iontach
Cool Runner |
posted Feb-27-2006 11:34 AM
quote:
Originally posted by elkid:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by ferrellk:
[b]Breast cancer, because it is seen as a solely genetic disease by many, is acceptable.
I still can't get past this. Acceptable to whom? And in what context? to support? to fund? Surely you don't mean to have.
[/B][/QUOTE]Because, as a species, we're judgemental. Which would society be more sympathetic to, someone who became HIV-positive and developed AIDS through unprotected promiscuous sex, or someone who became HIV-positive and developed AIDS through treatment for hemophilia? I'm betting the second despite the fact that the suffering is the same, and the loss of a human being is the same. Please note that I am NOT saying that this is right. Just that it's the way our set of moral equivalences work. In the case of heart disease, there is a set of very strong lifestyle correlations - and really, shouldn't we all know them by now and avoid them? Isn't continuing to smoke, eat badly, take no exercise, etc., just stupid, and well, if you live like that, then don't come crying to me about your furred-up arteries.* In the case of breast cancer, it's less easy to blame the sufferer. And that makes it an easier disease for a charity to market, which is what the discussion was about. No-one here is comfortable with living in a world which contains breast cancer.
*I exaggerate for effect here. I do not intend to incur the anger of those of you whose lives have been affected by heart disease. My father died of it when I was eight. Yeah - living with that absence was easy - real easy.
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Zapatista
Cool Runner |
posted Feb-27-2006 12:03 PM
quote:
Originally posted by wyrillco:
I have three very personal reasons to give to breast cancer research, and many personal reasons to give to the American Cancer Society.
" And then of course is the American Cancer Society.
Don't get us started, except to say that we agree with Dr. Samuel Epstein when he points out that the Cancer Society has for years misguidedly taken millions from big corporations. The problem is that contributors have an interest in diverting attention away from environmental causes of cancer and focusing attention on pharmaceutical and other treatments.
As Dr. Epstein puts it: "There's a fixation on damage control -- screening, diagnosis and treatment -- with indifference to prevention -- which is compounded by longstanding conflicts of interest with a wide range of industries, coupled with a systematic discrediting of evidence of avoidable causes of cancer." http://www.commondreams.org/views/102700-106.htm http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0516-33.htm
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camelia bedelia
Cool Runner |
posted Feb-27-2006 12:04 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Iontach:
In the case of heart disease, there is a set of very strong lifestyle correlations - and really, shouldn't we all know them by now and avoid them? Isn't continuing to smoke, eat badly, take no exercise, etc., just stupid, and well, if you live like that, then don't come crying to me about your furred-up arteries.*In the case of breast cancer, it's less easy to blame the sufferer. [/B]
Exactly. And anyone who thinks that isn't a prevelant, if not always stated, attitude, then they aren't listening with the same ears as someone who has lost a love one to heart disease.
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wyrillco
Cool Runner |
posted Feb-27-2006 12:27 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Zapatista:
" And then of course is the American Cancer Society.
Don't get us started, except to say that we agree with Dr. Samuel Epstein when he points out that the Cancer Society has for years misguidedly taken millions from big corporations. The problem is that contributors have an interest in diverting attention away from environmental causes of cancer and focusing attention on pharmaceutical and other treatments.
As Dr. Epstein puts it: "There's a fixation on damage control -- screening, diagnosis and treatment -- with indifference to prevention -- which is compounded by longstanding conflicts of interest with a wide range of industries, coupled with a systematic discrediting of evidence of avoidable causes of cancer." http://www.commondreams.org/views/102700-106.htm http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0516-33.htm
I actually meant the American Heart Assn, but I still give to ACS. And I'm ok with treating people with drugs who already have the problem, as well as dealing with environmental causes. ------------------
Courtney
My User Profile
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maniacplayer
Cool Runner |
posted Feb-27-2006 12:31 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Maureen61:
sigh.........no it isn't "silly". In the end, no matter how one arrives there, it is the failure of the pump that ends life.
While maybe technically correct by some standards, this definition of death is an outdated relic. It is the death of the brain, not the heart that ends life. It is possible to die while the heart muscle is still functioning, and also possible to live when the heart dies (the function of the heart can be replicated through artificial means, not true of the brain -at least not yet).
------------------
maniacplayer
[This message has been edited by maniacplayer (edited Feb-27-2006).]
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Stone Soup
Cool Runner |
posted Feb-27-2006 01:00 PM
I'm with you, Ferrellk, Camelia Bedelia, and Barbara Ehrenreich (read her extremely illuminating article in Harpers about all of this) with the cutesificiation of breast cancer. I'm sorry, the pink Kitchen Aid mixer phenomenon and other pink gendered merchandise is just creepy as hell to me. There's nothing cute or frilly about cancer of any kind and I think this whole pink thing obscures the ugliness of a devastating illness.I'm also convinced that breast cancer gets such disproportionate attention because of the insane amount of sexualized, not functional, attention that breasts get. The specter of their absence is disturbing to men, so they're on board - not because women breast-feed or enjoy their own breasts' sexual response, but because they're so gosh-darn pretty. And, yes - I have loads of breast cancer in my family. quote:
Originally posted by ferrellk:
Maybe he'll go ride a bike about it.  In regards to the debate heart disease/breast cancer blah blah blah. Breast cancer is an easy sell for PR. You can have nifty yogurt cup campaigns, and cute pink ribbons worn by sexy celebrities (like Sheryl Crow for example). It is a chic disease. Breast cancer, because it is seen as a solely genetic disease by many, is acceptable. Even rich, pretty, thin white girls can get it. Heart disease, as it is seen as more of a lifestyle disease, is for the obese, the uneducated, the minorities, the poor. At least that's the stigma it carries. Who wants to associate themselves with that? A shame, really. Just my rambling 2 cents.
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DogMom
Cool Runner |
posted Feb-27-2006 01:19 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Stone Soup:
I'm with you, Ferrellk, Camelia Bedelia, and Barbara Ehrenreich (read her extremely illuminating article in Harpers about all of this) with the cutesificiation of breast cancer. I'm sorry, the pink Kitchen Aid mixer phenomenon and other pink gendered merchandise is just creepy as hell to me. There's nothing cute or frilly about cancer of any kind and I think this whole pink thing obscures the ugliness of a devastating illness.I'm also convinced that breast cancer gets such disproportionate attention because of the insane amount of sexualized, not functional, attention that breasts get. The specter of their absence is disturbing to men, so they're on board - not because women breast-feed or enjoy their own breasts' sexual response, but because they're so gosh-darn pretty. And, yes - I have loads of breast cancer in my family.
1 I have participated in a few of the Komen races, most of them were before the "pink"ifying of the cause.
And yes I understand that using colors to represent different diseases or causes helps the public become aware of those diseases or causes, I think it can be way overdone.
As for breast cancer, while it is a very horrible disease (I lost a coworked who discovered her lump when she slung her purse over her shoulder, imagine how big that lump must have been) I have to admit to be a bit overwhelmed by the marketing of pink items.
And in that vein why haven't we seen any "red" Kitchen Aid mixers? Or any other merchandise geared to AIDS awareness.
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