In October of 2013 I attempted a Breast Cancer Awareness fundraiser with my Thirty-One business. It was a total flop. {Hang in there, this story gets more interesting} I’ve had other successful fundraisers, the most successful and most recent being the Mother’s Day project for the Ronald McDonald House. And it has just recently dawned on me why other fundraisers have been successful and why I received little {more accurately, no} support in my efforts to raise money for breast cancer awareness and research.
I was not open about my personal investment in breast cancer research. I was not transparent about my own experiences. I am not usually open to discussions about my own problems, for the typical reasons: I don’t want your judgements poking around in my life. Even more so, I don’t want anyone who has suffered a more serious diagnosis to feel like I’m comparing my fear to theirs because I know my struggle is minimal in comparison. I am about to go out of character and share more about myself than I am comfortable with.
In 2008 I found a large painful lump in my right breast and immediately made a same day doctors appointment. After an examination I felt a lot of relief to hear the diagnosis “Fibrocystic Breast Condition” which is very common (in varying forms it appears in about 60% of women). It is not cancerous whatsoever but the masses formed can mimic those that are caused by breast cancer. Breast cancer and fibrocystic breast condition (FCC) both cause breast masses, but from what I understand FCC does NOT increase my chances of developing breast cancer. What it does effect is the ability to detect breast cancer if I were to develop it, especially since now I typically always have a painful mass in one breast or the other. I gladly take these painful lumps over the grotesque battle many other women are fighting.
Again I say, it’s a grotesque battle. Breast cancer awareness is washed in pink, especially so in October. Pink is cute, pink is pretty, pink is easy to look at for most. And I just want to remind you that breast cancer is the opposite. So many companies jump on the “pink wagon” and many product labels turn pink in October to show support. In turn many consumers start reaching for the pink labels to show their support. I’m sorry if I’m being offensive but most of this “pink” is just part of the Marketing Machine. And there lies another of my mistakes. I thought October, being breast cancer awareness month, was perfect timing for a fundraiser but my efforts got lost in a blur of pink marketing methods. Rest assured that when I’m raising funds for a cause, it’s not to entice you to buy a bag so I can turn a profit, it’s to support a mission that I am invested in.
My support for breast cancer is not selfless. Yes, you read that right, I still have selfish motives and I’m about to be transparent once again. I hope to never feel all that a woman feels when she fights breast cancer. I pray to God that I never know that struggle, that weariness, that fear. But if God so wills it I also pray that research has been funded, that innovations have been made, and that my battle would be less than the women who had fought the fight before me.
It’s not October. We’re not surrounded by pink ribbons, pink cans of soup, and football players aren’t on TV wearing pink accessories. You can still donate to Susan G Komen. You don’t have to wait until a designated awareness month to support research and awareness. Susan G Komen does take online donations on their website. Visit: https://secure.info-komen.org/site/Donation2;jsessionid=42074F2E4470C7FE2DB49BD2C71EC3B5.app352b?13842.donation=form1&df_id=13842