Racing and pinking cures nothing …

Cancer Prevalence Worldwide 1997
Britannica image

WHY — because cure was never the intention

Specialists, Pharma, and hucksters are raking in huge profits, promoting luxurious lifestyles on disease and maintenance of disease. Races and pink ribbons cure nothing.

Cures are achieved by independent laboratory work, devotedly unbiased, seriously funded science whose sole mission —in the public interest and for the public good — is to find cures and, allied with this, to  ensure unrestricted accessibility and promote disease prevention.

January 2011
Article in Guardian UK

By Carolyn Bennett

For years, I have been suspicious of the “pink,”  “race for,” “ribboned,” often “celebritied” campaigns because they never seemed concerned with promoting achievement of the ends that women with cancer and women prone to breast cancer (or a disease, any disease) needed to have achieved.

My mother and her mother died of breast cancer and this issue has always been a tender place with me. So I bought the pink snake oil bamboozle briefly in the 80s I think it was. Then my eyes opened to the realization that this was nothing but a race for a sham, a pink elephant (a narcotic). The fix was in, permanently. Prevention or cure was never in the running.  

Now I find that others share my suspicions and they are calling out what they term the “pinkwashers.”

The Breast Cancer Action group writes on its website, “Pinkwasher (pink’-wah-sher, a noun) —

Company or organization that claims to care about breast cancer by promoting a pink ribbon product but, at the same time, produces, manufactures and or sells products that are linked to the disease.

“Pinkwashing has reached a new low this year with ‘Promise Me,’ a perfume commissioned by Susan G. Komen for the Cure,” Breast Cancer Action says. “‘Promise Me’ contains chemicals not listed in the ingredients that: (a) are regulated as toxic and hazardous, (b) have not been adequately evaluated for human safety, and (c) have demonstrated negative health effects.”

Breast Cancer Action calls that “pinkwashing”

“From pink dog toys to pink... handguns,” CounterSpin led one of two features the week ending October 21 with this insight, “there is no escaping ‘Breast Cancer Awareness Month.’  Some of it is crass [and] raises a lot of money … at least a lot of awareness.” The lead noted these ideas, money and awareness, as critical questions or at least for raised eyebrows.

Money, yes; but for whom and for what; and if we concede that this “movement” raises “awareness,” is there any value to it other than raising more money — for the maintenance and manipulation industries: drug makers and marketers, medical specialists and X-ray technicians, PR and advertising industries?

On the Friday CounterSpin program was “Breast Cancer Action” Executive Director Karuna Jaggar who talked about this corrupt [my word] movement and why Breast Cancer Action launched the “Think Before You Pink” campaign.

Breast Cancer U.S. Statistics
Britannica image

“Think Before You Pink” is, according to its website, a project of the breast cancer movement watchdog group Breast Cancer Action. Launched in 2002, the “Think Before You Pink” campaign responds to “the growing concern about the number of pink ribbon products on the market and calls for more transparency and accountability by companies that take part in breast cancer fundraising and encourages consumers to ask critical questions about pink ribbon promotions.”

Breast Cancer statistics

From World Cancer Research Fund International

The countries with the top 20 highest incidence of breast cancer are given in the table below.

Belgium has the highest rate of breast cancer, followed by Denmark and France.

The number of cases of breast cancer diagnosed in 2008 is equally spread between more and less developed countries (around 50% for each).

Highest incidence of breast cancer in

• Australia and New Zealand
• Northern Europe and Northern America.

The lowest incidence of breast cancer in

• South-Central Asia
• Middle and Eastern Africa.

Rank	Country	Age-Standardized Rate per 100,000 (World)
1	Belgium	109.2
2	Denmark	101.1
3	France (metropolitan)	99.7
4	The Netherlands	98.5
5	Israel	96.8
6	Iceland	95.5
7	Ireland	93.9
8	Uruguay	90.7
9	Switzerland	89.4
9	New Zealand	89.4
11	United Kingdom	89.1
12	Finland	86.3
12	Italy	86.3
13	Australia	84.8
14	Canada	83.2
15	Luxembourg	82.3
16	Germany	81.8
17	Sweden	79.4
18	French Polynesia	76.8
19	United States of America	76.0
20	Argentina	74.0
20	Barbados	74.0

Source: GLOBOCAN 2008 database (version 1.2) http://globocan.iarc.fr

WCRF International, Second Floor, 22 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3HH

http://www.wcrf.org/cancer_statistics/breast_cancer_statistics.php

These are critical questions Breast Cancer Action urges you to “Ask Before You Buy Pink.” The questions are more fully developed on the group’s website.

How much money from your purchase actually goes toward breast cancer?

Is the amount clearly stated on the package?

When the amount is stated on the package judge whether that amount enough?

What is the maximum amount [an entity] will donate from proceeds?

How are the funds being raised?

Does making the purchase ensure a contribution to the cause or do you, the shopper, have to jump through hoops to make sure the money gets where it’s supposed to go?

To what breast cancer organization does the money go and what types of programs does it support?

Does the product’s package tell you where the money goes and what will be done with it?

Will the money go to fund the same studies that have been ongoing for decades (which already get enormous financial support) or will it go to under-funded, innovative research into the causes of breast cancer?

What is the company doing to assure that its products are not actually contributive to the breast cancer epidemic?

Many companies that raise funds for breast cancer also make products that are linked to the disease. … Many cosmetics companies whose products contain chemicals linked to breast cancer also sell their items for the cause.

"Think before you spend your money on pink items."

Sources and notes

Both sexes [Cancer]

• Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide contributing nearly 13% of the total number of new cases diagnosed in 2008.
• Breast cancer (women only) is the second most common cancer with nearly 1.4 million new cases in 2008.
• Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer with over 1.2 million new cases in 2008.

Rank	Cancer	New cases diagnosed in 2008 (1,000s)	Per cent of all cancers (excl non-melanoma skin cancer
1	Lung	1608	12.7
2	Breast	1384	10.9
3	Colorectum	1235	9.8
4	Stomach	989	7.8
5	Prostate	899	7.1
6	Liver	750	5.9
7	Cervix uteri	530	4.2
8	Oesophagus	482	3.8
9	Bladder	383	3.0
10	Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	356	2.8
11	Leukaemia	350	2.8
12	Corpus uteri (endometrium)	288	2.3
13	Pancreas	279	2.2
14	Kidney	274	2.2
15	Lip, oral cavity	263	2.1
16	Brain, nervous system	238	1.9
17	Ovary	225	1.8
18	Thyroid	213	1.7
19	Melanoma of skin	200	1.6
20	Larynx	151	1.2
21	Gallbladder	145	1.1
22	Other pharynx	137	1.1
23	Multiple myeloma	103	0.8
24	Nasopharynx	84	0.7
25	Hodgkin lymphoma	68	0.5
26	Testis	52	0.4

Source: GLOBOCAN 2008 database (version 1.2) http://globocan.iarc.fr

http://www.wcrf.org/cancer_statistics/world_cancer_statistics.php

“Todd Tucker on trade deals, Karuna Jaggar on Think Before You Pink” (CounterSpin, 10/21/11-10/27/11), http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=4421; http://thinkbeforeyoupink.org/?page_id=13

Breast Cancer Action, the watchdog of the breast cancer movement, does not accept funding from entities that profit from or contribute to cancer, including the pharmaceutical industry. Therefore, the group says on its website, “We are able to tell the truth about the epidemic.”

Breast Cancer Action: 55 New Montgomery St, Suite 323, San Francisco, CA 94105 http://thinkbeforeyoupink.org/?page_id=12

Download the PDF of critical questions. Find out the real story behind where the pink ribbon came from. Learn more about ‘cause marketing.’

Think Before You Pink™ is made possible by the generosity of the Lisa and Douglas Goldman Fund, Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, Marisla Foundation, Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation and Rainbow Grocery Cooperative.

Think Before You Buy Pink

“Pinkwasher: (pink’-wah-sher) noun. A company or organization that claims to care about breast cancer by promoting a pink ribbon product but at the same time produces, manufactures and/or sells products that are linked to the disease.”

“Pinkwashing has reached a new low this year with ‘Promise Me,’ a perfume commissioned by Susan G. Komen for the Cure. ‘Promise Me’ contains chemicals not listed in the ingredients that: (a) are regulated as toxic and hazardous, (b) have not been adequately evaluated for human safety, and (c) have demonstrated negative health effects.

“At Breast Cancer Action, we call that pinkwashing, and we urge you to Raise a Stink! with us about it,” http://thinkbeforeyoupink.org/

  

Cancer Statistics (charts) Britannica

Britannica note: Breast cancer worldwide is the most common cancer among women. In North America and Western Europe, where life spans are longer, the incidence of breast cancer is highest.

Guardian Cancer rates

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/jan/24/worldwide-cancer-rates-uk-rate-drops

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Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire

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