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
Comments
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Glad to hear you responded to this article. I sent it to my Father-in-law who has had surgery and treatment for prostate cancer, so he zoned in on those comments. It showed me that depending on our own situation - depends on our reaction to it. I was shocked at the stark comments made about being "lucky" to have had Breast Cancer, because so many famous people have had it, and how fortunate I was, to be in this group. (pfffttt! hummm). I have become close to a lady with a brain tumour, and in our early meetings I do recall her saying she didnt feel that supported, but luckily we have such a sensational Cancer Council staffing here in Launceston, I am sure she now feels supported enough. Plus she has me keeping an eye on her. Not a common cancer apparently. I was also stopped in my tracks about men taking more notice because "breasts" were involved. I just laughed to myself and thought "How typical". I know my husband isnt thinking that way, so obviously the man who wrote that article, hasnt had a partner with breast cancer. Poor choice of words indeed.
My husband has been struggling for years with giving up smoking, so for me, I pulled out that part of the story and said to him "Now you have given up, again, I am letting you know that more people died from lung cancer than breast cancer!" Which Im sure he was thrilled to hear too (hmmm message to self, lucky you got away with that one unscathed!).
My last thought about the article was this one "Well, if they can all get they answers to curing Cancer via our help, that is fantastic. In my mind I just think to myself, its all Cancer, its all wrotten, so it just depends on where it pops up!" (ah, obviously Im no Doctor either!).
Well done, I appreciate you speaking up on our behalf. It goes to show, we all thought differently about one article, depending on which cancer we have had.+
note: nothing I have said is meant to offend, I am only speaking about the variety of reactions I experienced in my close circle, as I emailed that story to those mentioned in my story.
Bel McKenna
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