Not The ONLY Cancer

Welcome to October. The Pink Month. Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Now, I truly hope that I don't offend anyone with this post but it's been creeping up on me and I need to get my thoughts out about it. I know several of you dear readers have recently fought breast cancer and I apologize in advance if this post hurts your feelings. It is not at all my intention to do that.

I do care about breast cancer very much. My grandma died of it 15 years ago and a couple of my dearest friends have had it (and thankfully beat it!). I am amazed at and thankful for the strides the medical community has made in researching, treating and curing breast cancer over the years. I believe that, despite her old age, if my grandma had breast cancer in today's world rather than over a decade ago, she'd have a good chance of surviving it. I'm all for the Race for the Cure and I've always participated in Yoplait's Caps for the Cure, too. But it hurts my feelings when I see beautiful CANCER SURVIVOR jewelry in a catalog that I want for myself until I see the pink bead or pink ribbon on it, which, to me, restricts its strength only for breast cancer survivors.

Having said all of that, though, it disgusts me that an entire month is devoted solely to breast cancer. Everywhere you'll look this month everything will be pink pink PINK. Not that I mind the color, obviously, but it irritates me to no end that breast cancer gets all this special attention while all the other serious cancers get swept under the rug. Someone on one of my cancer chat boards informed me that September was National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. How many of you knew that? And how many of you know what color the Ovarian Cancer ribbon is? It's teal. I had no idea.

So why the special attention to breast cancer? why does it seem to trump all the others lately? Please don't tell me it has anything to do with the typical American man's obsession with women's breasts! That can't be the only reason, can it?

Whatever the reason, it hurts my feelings now that I have cancer and it's not the pretty pink ribboned one. It took a lot of digging through the internet and comparing average answers to find out what color my ribbon is (it's green). But I'm not sure cholangiocarcinoma has it's own month to be aware of it. Actually, there are so many different kinds of cancers out there, a simple twelve months isn't nearly enough to devote a single month to each of them.

So here's what I suggest: Instead of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, how bout we make it All Cancer Awareness Month?! Ideally, we should all be aware of cancer every month of the year but I can understand how it can get overwhelming for the average person whose -by some miracle- life is not touched by cancer. So I'd settle for one month. Don't specify a cancer. Don't single one out in particular. Let's not pick favorites just because the ribbon is pretty. I do know that different cancers act and grow differently from others. Especially where breast cancer is concerened. I don't know much about breast cancer but I do know that it's horemonally based, unlike my cancer which happens to not be connected to my horemones. So, by that rationale, it's probably treated quite differently than my cancer is, as are probably several other types of cancers. But can't we do a Race for the Cure for ALL cancers this month? Have multi-colored caps on yogurts to represent the myriad of cancers affecting millions of people around the world?

That just gave me a great idea! All this month, instead of "celebrating" breast cancer awareness, I'll introduce you all (as well as myself) to a variety of other types of cancers affecting the people we know and love. I do a bit of initial research on a particular type and we'll all learn about them together on here. I can't commit to a different one each day but I'll at least try to get two out a week, how bout that? It turns our heads away from the pink propoganda and towards the others whose ribbons we know nothing about. Hey, it's a start, right?

Let's start this way: leave me a comment telling me about a different kind of cancer someone you know is currently or has been fighting. Or, if you feel more comfortable telling me in private, click here to email me your story. I'll take my cues from you, if I get enough of them. For example, you'll tell me your cousin has a brain tumor. If you know the specific name of the diagnosis (like mine is cholangiocarcinoma aka liver cancer) tell me that too. Then I'll look up some brief but educational information about it and post it on this blog. Then, all of a sudden, we will all BE AWARE of another type of cancer. Afterall, knowledge is power!

What do you say? Drop me a line and let's get started!