Just another Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Or is it?
Hello, friend.
Welcome and thank you for being here. The support you offer by reading my words means so much, so again, thank you.
It’s October, and you know what that means. Yep. Another Breast Cancer Awareness Month has rolled around. Despite this fact, October remains my favorite month. Pinktober can never take that away. Never. Besides, October will always belong to my dad. Always.
Let’s get down to business and talk about BCAM 2024. Will it be just like all the others before it, or has there been a shifting of the pink tide, so to speak?
I look forward to reading your thoughts, so be sure to share them in the comments.
Just another Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Or is it?
2024 marks my 15th go-around with Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM) post diagnosis. My feelings about all the shenanigans that go on during various awareness campaigns that have come, gone, and remain have certainly evolved.
The year I was diagnosed, I didn’t give BCAM a whole lot of thought other than I assumed it was all good. What could there possibly be not to love about pink ribbons, all that racing and pinking, marketing, and attention breast cancer was getting for an entire month?
Well, as I quickly learned — plenty!
To be clear, a lot of good has come from BCAM over the years. But a lot of not-so-good stuff has also come from it as well.
Does the good outweigh the bad?
Guess we all have opinions about that.
While getting ready to write this piece, I was contemplating how to summarize all that stuff — the good and the bad.
Pretty fast, it became clear I had no idea how to do that.
On my previous Nancy’s Point blog (it’s still there) I wrote roughly 55 articles about pink ribbons, pink shenanigans, sexualization and trivialization of a deadly disease, how BCAM has failed (and continues to fail) those with metastatic disease, the exclusion of men, campaigns that exist solely to line the pockets of corporations and businesses big and small, the nonsensical idea that somehow shopping was the answer, the damage that’s been done trying to make ugly pretty, and more.
So, should I send you to my other site to browse and sift through those 55 articles? (like you have time for that, right?)
Should I revamp/update my most popular articles and share them here on this new platform?
Should I just avoid the whole topic and not write about BCAM at all?
Should I write one or two articles this month and call it good?
I’ll probably end up doing a combo of these things.
Does anyone even care what I do? (probably not)
But I care.
Cancer will always be a topic I write about no matter what platform I am on. I will never stop advocating. For me, silence is not an option.
Going silent would be like turning the page on my mother’s illness and death from metastatic breast cancer. Not talking about MBC would almost be like no longer talking about her. Don’t get me wrong, MBC did not define her life whatsoever, but it did define her death in a brutal way.
My advocacy has always been and continues to be more about my mother than me. It’s why I keep circling back to include and advocate for those I know, and those I do not, who are struggling with metastatic disease. I will be an ally, always.
I will never be quiet when 42,000+ women AND roughly 500 men will be dying from this disease in 2024 (in the US alone) even if the headlines tell us death rates are declining. (By the way, that death number has remained the same since 2010 when I was diagnosed.) The problem is, the number of diagnoses keeps rising, especially among younger women. Plus, the number of women and men living with MBC is not properly tracked.
So, it’s like we’re treading water. Making progress, yes. But also not making progress. In other words, not good enough.
Therefore, the advocacy work continues. It must. I fully realize some are burned out. Pinktober fatigue is real. Some are too sick to think about much other than getting through the day. Others are newly diagnosed and feeling completely overwhelmed. Still others, want to do something to help a cause they care about, but are unsure what to do.
(For some ideas, you might want to read: 12 Things You Can Do All Year Long to Support Educated BC Awareness.)
What each of us does matters. It always does. Because directly impacted by breast cancer or not, we are stronger together.
So will Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2024 be any different?
Will the needle be moved a bit more in the direction of meaningful action rather than mere awareness?
That’s up to you and me.
It’s up to all of us.
It always is.
#StrongerTogether
Thank you for reading, commenting on, and sharing my article. I appreciate you doing any or all of these things.
How are you feeling about BCAM this year, and have your feelings evolved over the years?
Do you think the good that has come from BCAM outweighs the bad?
Are you seeing less, more, or about the same amount of pink shenanigans these days?
If you like my article, thank you for sharing it!
When I need a reminder about what October is really about, I look out my window…
Thank you for being here with me. I appreciate YOU.
Don’t forget to visit my author website to learn about my three books. Reminder: I donate 10% of profits from the sale of all my books annually to METAvivor. So, every purchase directly impacts research specific to MBC.
If you want to read a candid, unvarnished memoir about breast cancer, you might want to read my mine: Cancer Was Not a Gift & It Didn’t Make Me a Better Person. No sugarcoating. Guaranteed.
As always, I see you. I hear you, and I care about what YOU have to say.
Until next time…
Take care of yourself, and be kind to someone.
Warmly, and with gratitude,
Nancy
I think that this month should be Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Month #MBCAM, instead of just one day. Then we’d have honest discussions about this disease.
I've always felt conflicted about BCAM, and you've articulated those feelings perfectly. The focus on early detection, while important, often overshadows the realities of metastatic breast cancer and the ongoing struggles of survivors.