Why does all the attention go to breast cancer ?

Question

It seems to me that there is ALOT of attention on breast cancer. When i go shopping i keep seeing pink ribbons. if toy go to the american cancer society website the first thing you will notice is a pink ribbon with the words In focus:breast cancer. Why? I understand that breast cancer is a horrible disease and i sympathize with anyone who suffers from it but it is the 5th deadliest cancer. That means there are 4 that kill more but get far less attention.

Lung cancer will kill an estimated 170,000 people while breast cancer will kill an estimated 40,000

As a matter of fact a friend from work was just diagnosed luckily they caught it early and will be able to treat with some kind of laser treatment.

Lung cancer is not selfinfliected though cigarete smoke is a huge contributer it is also occuring in nonesmokers at alarming rates

I am not uncaring to breast cancer but nunber wise its not close to the most dangerous why is there less attention on the top killers?

Answer 1

I have lymphoma.....but I support the breast cancer "fundraisers" just as much as my own..(I work with the AMC relay for life, which is for all cancers)...cancer sucks, no matter what type you have...I know people who never smoked one cig in their life and they have lung cancer....cancer is a rotten disease....it doesn't care how old you are, what race you are, or if you are male or female.

Answer 2

I think there are two key reasons why breast cancer gets so much attention. First of all, it is one of the most common forms of cancer. It is not THE most common form, but it is up there - and a leading type of cancer among women and a leading cause of death among women. Since it is more common than other forms of cancer, people are fairly likely to KNOW someone who has been inflicted with breast cancer - a mother, sister, aunt, cousin or dear friend. A women dealing with breast cancer not only has to deal with the issue of cancer itself, but also (oftentimes) with the added issue of losing a breast - something that many women associate with their sexuality. It was not that long ago that women with breast cancer were ashamed to tell anyone about their disease. Many people watched their beleoved mothers, sisters, girlfriends, daughters, etc. deal with the double whammy of dealing with a diagnosis and then the physical changes.

The second reason why breast cancer gets so much attention has to do with the ADVOCACY. The Susan B Komen foundation (which was started after the Founders sister died from breast cancer) has evolved into a mego-force. The founder of this foundation has done a wonderful job of creating NOISE all over the place - at the government level, at the 'star' level, at the grassroots level. Quite honestly, she has done more with her foundation than anyone else has done with competing foundations. This has made a huge difference!

I have been bothered by all the noise around breast cancer too. Not that I would take away the great progress that has been made for breast cancer patients, but I feel that other cancers have NOT made progress because research dollars and investigators have spent a disproportionate amount of time looking at breast cancer. My loved one is suffering from a very rare form of cancer where hardly any research dollars are spent trying to find cures. In the past year - I have found only 2 clinical studies where this rare cancer. By comparison, there are HUNDREDS of studies going on in breast cancer right now. Again, I support breats cancer research, but I also support research for other forms of cancer as well.

Just my opinion....

Answer 3

do you know anyone with breast cancer or anyone that has been close to you that has died from breast cancer? Most women that have breast cancer have friends that try to support the cause and cure for it. They call mastectomy's operations now Drive Thur operations, because a woman loses their breast and they are sent home right after the operation. If you have never lost a breast you wont understand why the need is to have some one take care of you and help you for a few days. Its a very emotional time. Sorry if you don't understand. But if you would like to be active in some other type of fight for a cure please do so, survivors will really appreciate it.

Answer 4

Hi, first of all, yes Lung Cancer kills a lot of people, but it's is virtually incurable right now, and they are sinking millions of dollars into curing it, but BREAST CANCER is highly treatable and on the verge of a breakthrough. Their funding is running out, so therefore they need the public to help.

Breast Cancer kills mothers... yes lung cancer does too but are more likely to suffer from breast cancer. Not to mention the money just doesn't go to funding research, it goes to educating the public and providing services to people who can't afford it, so they blow it off and not get checked.

Answer 5

Obviously Breast cancer is high profile right now because it's October. Breast Cancer Awareness Month started as a campaign by women to raise awareness so that people knew the symptoms, examined themselves regularly, attended their routine mammograms etc. Enthusiastic participation by women made it grow into something nationally, then internationally, recognised (and then big business cashed in). Any group of people can start such an awareness campaign for any illness.

There are other cancer awareness months, ribbons etc, for example there is a prostate cancer awareness campaign and a ribbon, but as men are generally less open and less willing to talk about their health and well, their prostates, it gets less publicity and support.

http://www.cancerservicesonline.org/cancer_awareness.asp

Now I have had breast cancer and I agree that there are extremely irritating things about Breast Cancer Awareness month, or Pink October as the more cynical of us call it. Support for a deadly disease that kills on average 1,300 women a month in the UK alone has been turned into a marketing opportunity by big business, with
around 1% of the cost of specially made pink stuff going to breast cancer charities, the rest into the retailers’ pockets.

The pink fluffy stuff infuriates me, and I'm not at all 'tickled pink' by Asda's (Walmart's) trivialisation of an illness that may yet kill me. October magazines carry stories from cheerful survivors who claim to have the all-clear (there is no all-clear with breast cancer), and often say bc has changed their lives for the better - very different from anybody I know who's had breast cancer.

Also I believe that the marketing and fund-raising aspects of Pink October, by trivialising a deadly disease, are leading people to believe that breast cancer is

a) not very serious, certainly not as serious as many other cancers (many women with breast cancer have been told - by people who don't have it - that it's a 'good' cancer to get)

and

b) curable. (my neighbour said to me 'they've just about got breast cancer licked, haven't they?' Really? Why are they still cutting women's breasts off then?)

And just this morning someone replied to a question on this forum by saying ‘People don’t die of breast cancer any more’.

I've even heard it said that it's a ‘fashionable’ or 'sexy' cancer - my sexy prosthesis and sexy one-breasted body are evidence that it's no such thing.

I agree with you that awareness needs to be raised about other cancers too.
and while I hate 'competitive illness' I can see why there is some resentment about an imbalance in awareness raising and fund raising. Yes, Pink October is awful in some respects and yes other cancers need awareness campaigns (many have them as I’ve said, but they don't receive so much support - or have as much work put into them). But don't lose sight of the fact that breast cancer is a killer disease with disfiguring surgery, gruelling treatments and so far no cure, or that in the UK one in nine women will be diagnosed with it at some point in their lives, and I think that percentage is about the same in America.

Answer 6

I think that publicity by well known people who have had breast cancer probably helped to get the ball rollilng, then funding would get directed in this direction. You are right though. I agree that treatment for other cancers are just as important.

Answer 7

i know what you mean, my grandma has lung cancer, and i cant find a single, walk ,run, or fundraising item for it.
But i hear about tons of breast cancer walks and marathons.
And i see pins and teddy baers and hats, and scarvs,
and it makes me think millions of people smoke in america, and 4/7 of them die of lung cancer.
why isn't this important?
why doesn't my grandma deserve a walk and a pin?

Answer 8

lung cancer effects both genders equally, and is usually self inflicted. strangely enough, more men get prostate cancer than women, and more women than men get breast cancer.

oh, another reason breast cancer kills less people than lung cancer is because it's actually able to be treated (ok, with breast removal) and more people survive!

more money is spent on finding a cure or prevention for baldness than on finding a cure for cervical cancer, breast cancer, diabetes or cot death.

more government money is spent on fighting a pointless war than on health care. more money is spent on roads than on public housing.

Answer 9

because we worship beauty and a masectomy can be quite disfiguring in this age where youth and beauty are worshipped. go natural, eat organics, stay away from animal protein.