BCNA responds to 'Pink Inc' article in Good Weekend
Many of you may have read the article 'Pink Inc' pubilshed in the Good Weekend magazine on Saturday 8 March.
The article was critical of the success of fundraising and the amount of research funds directed at breast cancer research compared to other cancers.
We understand that many of you may have been upset by the article. At BCNA, we are unhappy that the article includes its description of breast cancer as ‘sexy’ and the way it pitches cancers against each other.
We are pleased that The Age newspaper published a letter to the editor from BCNA CEO Maxine Morand today in response to the article.
A copy of Maxine's letter is below.
We have asked our Facebook members for their thoughts. You can join in the conversation by visiting our Facebook page.
Laura
No pink picnic
I am sick of the backlash against the success of breast cancer fund-raising. The article ''Pink Inc'' (Good Weekend, 8/3) includes references to ''sexy cancer'' and ''glamour''. There is nothing sexy about having some, or all, of your breasts removed. I have never met a woman who feels sexy because they have had breast cancer. I certainly don't. I doubt the 42 women diagnosed with breast cancer today will be ''cheerful'' about it. A diagnosis of breast cancer - like any cancer - is scary, not sexy.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Australian women. For the 15,000 women diagnosed this year, the treatment will hardly be a pink picnic. Thousands of women and a small number of men will die from breast cancer this year. The people dressing in pink to raise money for research, support services or nurses should be applauded. Their efforts have made a real difference. Let us grow the philanthropy pie rather than believing that giving a dollar for one type of cancer is taking away from another. Gains in breast cancer research can also benefit our understanding and treatment of other cancers.
Maxine Morand, CEO, Breast Cancer Network Australia, Camberwell
