PinkOctober

PeterB

12 MONTHS TO MAKE A CHANGE.

Ok we have three days left for the pink charities and the companies that have jumped on the pink wagon to get as many donation and purchases out of us.

WE NEED MORE MALE INCLUSION IN PINKOCTOBER.

Pink ladies, you are the only ones that can make the pink charities change their stance on Male Breast Cancer.

When you go to your meetings and start discussing next year. ASK THE QUESTIONS. why don’t we include more male aspects in the 2019 PINKOCTOBER. Not just one day in the month. Breast Cancer in NOT GENDER SPECIFIC.

These guys are your husbands, sons, brother, nephews and your male friends. We are not enough in numbers to persuade the charities to change their stance. 

WE NEED YOU LADIES.

Peter Bennett

The Men’s Breast Cancer

lrb_03

You are so right, Peter. It is only by speaking up, as consumers of a "product" that change will occur. I was at a BCNA forum recently, and was pleased to hear male bc at least mentioned by a couple of speakers.  Not enough, but a start.
I also feel for all tbose with other rare cancers who don't have the benefit of a network like this

PeterB

Thank you for your support, only the pink ladies can make this change
PeterB

traveltext

I'm waiting to hear a report from BCNA on how their media campaign went for Male Breast Cancer Day.

People keep asking me when it's on which makes me think it was not promoted very well. 

Marianne_BCNA

Hi @PeterB and @Traveltext

I have followed up with our media team regarding your questions about Male Breast Cancer day and what we have been doing for men in general (in regards to your discussion Peter) and they advised the following: 

BCNA has been working to be more inclusive of men since 2014, when the booklet Men Get Breast Cancer Too was produced.

BCNA messaging has also been altered to include ‘all Australians with breast cancer’ and whenever statistics are used the number of men diagnosed each year is also stated. In planting a mini field of pink silhouettes men are always represented with blue silhouettes. 

You may have noticed that in the replica of the first planting outside Federal Parliament on 17th October this year to mark 20 years since the start of BCNA that blue silhouettes were also present to represent the number of men diagnosed in proportion to that of the women. 

The Field Of Women event on the MCG also offered blue ponchos for those wanting to represent men.

Our State of the Nation report that was presented to Federal Parliament in June of this year highlighted the difficulties experiences by specific demographic groups including men. 

IN 2017 BCNA launched Australia’s first Male Breast Cancer Awareness Day to help educate the public and in 2018 that day was also recognised. In the lead up to media planning for October 2018 several story ideas on Male Breast Cancer were pitched to publications- It  was our understanding that a feature article was going to be published on a man with breast cancer – it had been months in the planning and was a piece to be written by a journalist whose father was diagnosed this year. For reasons we are not aware it didn’t go ahead. We had planned to share the article on our website and social channels but in its absence BCNA used an alternate post  and received good reach and engagement.

We also put forward a BCNA male member for a local article in QLD and another Facebook post was written on another male member for Men’s Magazine 

traveltext

Thanks for the head's up Marianne. I do appreciate the work BCNA has done over the past couple of years, particularly on the website, with extra collateral, and putting some blue into the major pink events. I do realise that we can't control the media, but I'm hoping next year will see us securing a major morning TV spot. 

I think you need to make up a list of media talent, categorised by particular knowledge and bc story. Because of my social media presence, I was asked to do two video stories, and I had a few articles published. Local media ran my story and a mass market magazine (That's Life) wrote an article for publication.

I would certainly be prepared to help next year in any way you'd like.