October: Breast Cancer vs. Domestic Violence

I know there is a similar rant thread about this. I was going to post there but my rant goes in a slightly different direction then what is mentioned there. Plus it's a too long not to be it's own thread. I'll explain below. So go get some snacks and something to drink, because this is going to be a long winded post. If you want to read the referenced thread here's the link: Carewemust's thread **Breast Cancer Awareness Month** Is This a Farce & Conspiracy Combined?.
Here's the issue I have about Breast Cancer Awareness month....beside everything being covered in pepto bismol pink.

1. Breast cancer, it's way too commercialized it's almost become a joke. The marketing behind this is brilliant. Some one realized that if it's pink and supports a primarily women's issue, people will buy it.

I swear it went like this:
Advertising guy: "How can we get more people to stare at breasts and make more money off it?"
2nd Ad guy: " I know! Breast Cancer! But it has to be pink so women won't suspect a thing."
1st Ad guy: " That's brilliant! Now let's go down to Hooters for lunch and support our new campaign. Hahahaha."

I KNOW it isn't the truth in how it got started. It's called sarcasm. However so many people are oblivious to the fact the marketing is about the breasts and not the person attached to them. Having cancer effects so many other things beside the actual cancer. Plus, it's not only women who have breasts. Ours are just, typically, bigger. [Insert man boob joke here.] It's also implied if you don't buy into this cause your are an insensitive a-hole to "women's issues". Don't get me wrong. It is an important issue in women's health, but not the most prevalent issue or deadly. For you stats geeks: Source:Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, exceeded only by lung cancer. The chance that breast cancer will be responsible for a woman's death is about 1 in 36 (about 3%). *Note: Breast cancer is one of the easiest cancers to detect early. So do your checks, people. Do it in the shower. Do it in bed. Do it on the sofa. Do it while reading this post. Hell! You can even do it in the kitchen! Get your mind out of the gutter and do your breast exam already. I'll wait until you are done. Yes, it's that important.
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Now since you are done feeling yourself up, I'll continue.
2. Too few funds actually go towards the cure. You'd be shocked at the actual percentage of donations that go to the cause. Link for that here and here.
Another members post, on the previously mendtioned thread above, makes a good point on this:

originally posted by: ShadowLink
This is why I rarely participate in this type of stuff. For the most part it's a big money grab and it's all achieved by playing on everyones heart strings.
Granted, they do need the money for research and it does help a lot but most organizations don't contribute as much money as everyone thinks they do.
Pink October: Where does money from the breast cancer movement go?

So where does all the money being raised actually go? There are many nonprofits that have joined the pink war against the disease, but the most prominent group behind the pink tide is the non-profit foundation, Susan G. Komen for the Cure (Komen). In 2011, Komen reported a net of $439 million in public support, but the foundation spent most of that on education, screening and treatment – and more on fundraising and administrative costs than it did on research. (In 2009 and 2010, executives earned between $400,000 and $500,000 in annual salary.) Despite the fact that it defines its mission as finding a cure for breast cancer, the organization spent $75 million on research in 2011, which is just 17 percent of its revenue, on finding a cure......

One of Wisconsin's premier breast cancer researchers, Dr. Judy Tjoe, credits the pink movement with raising awareness and gradually reducing deaths due to screenings, but she said too little money lands in the hands of scientists.

It's not too often I go to Wiki, but this page: Breast cancer awareness had an interesting graph.

Women are eleven times more likely to die from heart disease or stroke than from breast cancer.
Deaths from breast cancer (2%)
Deaths from heart disease or stroke (32%)
Deaths from other cancers (10%)
Other (56%)

Even if a cure is found, if one hasn't been already, these organizations will still exist.
Let's face it, there is little to no money in curring a disease that generates so much money for those running them or those providing extremely expensive medications that mostly only serve to prolong ones agony and postpone the inevitable all the while soaking people for every red cent they can.
Not to mention the false hope.

Troll: PFFF! THAT'S NOT FROM A LIGITAMENT NEWS SOURCE !!111!!! eleven !1! one !111!!1

Eat this troll: Small amount of money from pink NFL merchandise go to breast cancer research; Breash cancer key statics; Highest mortality rates for women in the U.S. ,
WHO-The top 10 causes of death

That awkward moment when breast cancer isn't even in the top 5 worldwide. Now go star ShadowLink's post before crawl back under your bridge.

3. Breast Cancer isn't just a woman's issue. Men get breast cancer too. Granted it is far less than women, but they get it none the less. Fun fact: A man’s lifetime risk of breast cancer is about 1 in 1,000. About 1 in 8 (12%) women in the US will develop invasive breast cancer during their lifetime. Food for thought: Since being so many people want gender equality shouldn't this issues be more gender natural? Some one in that department is slacking on their PC crusade. The only gender specific cancer issues are the ones directly related to our reproductive organs. The only exception are rare amount of people who have hermaphroditism. Those people are just extra sexy. Ha. Puns.

4. NO OTHER CANCERS are done the same way as breast cancer. Who knew that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness & Prostate cancer awareness month? Did you see everything painted in light blue or gold? Any professional sports teams wearing merchandising to raise money/awareness? Of course not. Little children and men must not be as important as bobbies. [That was sarcasm again, people.] Here's some fun facts: Other than skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men. Guys please get check more than once a year. You seem so much fascinated with a women's bum but not your own. And: In the U.S., 15,780 children under the age of 21 are diagnosed with cancer every year; approximately 1/4 of them will not survive the disease. That's 3,945 children a year just int the U.S. if I did my math right. Both of those are worthy causes. No special segments on the news. No publicity. Nothing. Now you know so there's no excuse next September. FYI November is American Diabetes and National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month.

5. October is ALSO domestic violence month. If you see a random purple ribbon on something, during this month, that's what it's for. Hold your argument of " Well the difference between cancer and domestic violence is they can leave." It's a far more complicated issue than just being able to walk out the door. Domestic violence also not just a women's issue but affects more women then men, according to statistics. Unfortunately, cases are severely under reported by both men and women. If more people reported it think how scary the real number could be. Here's a few more stats for you geeks:

-Nearly 1 in 5 women (18.3%) and 1 in 71 men (1.4%) in the United States have been raped at some time in their lives, including completed forced penetration, attempted forced penetration, or alcohol/drug facilitated completed penetration.
-More than half (51.1%) of female victims of rape reported being raped by an intimate partner and 40.8% by an acquaintance; for male victims, more than half (52.4%) reported being raped by an acquaintance and 15.1% by a stranger.
-More than 1 in 3 women (35.6%) and more than 1 in 4 men (28.5%) in the United States have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
-Among victims of intimate partner violence, more than 1 in 3 women experienced multiple forms of rape, stalking, or physical violence; 92.1% of male victims experienced physical violence alone, and 6.3% experienced physical violence and stalking.
-Nearly 1 in 10 women in the United States (9.4%) has been raped by an intimate partner in her lifetime, and an estimated 16.9% of women and 8.0% of men have experienced sexual violence other than rape by an intimate partner at some point in their lifetime.
-About 1 in 4 women (24.3%) and 1 in 7 men (13.8%) have experienced severe physical violence by an intimate partner (e.g., hit with a fist or something hard, beaten, slammed against something) at some point in their lifetime.
-Across all types of violence, the majority of both female and male victims reported experiencing violence from one perpetrator
Health Consequences- Men and women who experienced rape or stalking by any perpetrator or physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime were more likely to report frequent headaches, chronic pain, difficulty with sleeping, activity limitations, poor physical health and poor mental health than men and women who did not experience these forms of violence. Women who had experienced these forms of violence were also more likely to report having asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, and diabetes than women who did not experience these forms of violence.

Source: National Intimate Partner andSexual Violence Survey Published in 2014, this report describes the most recent data on the public health burden of sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence victimization and the characteristics of victimization. Data in this report summarizes the second year of data collection from the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey.
Make a note of that last paragraph in the quotations and review the chart from the WHO above. Notice something? Diabetes has a higher mortality rate for women in the highest earning countries than breast cancer. General poor health in known to cause hypertensive heart disease. . . also higher than breast cancer.

Troll: Who cares. It doesn't effect me. Besides that's what she gets for not making him a samich. LOL.
Oh but it does. Source.

The costs of intimate partner rape, physical assault, and stalking exceed $5.8 billion each year, nearly $4.1 billion of which is for direct medical and mental health care services.The total costs of IPV also include nearly $0.9 billion in lost productivity from paid work and household chores for victims of nonfatal IPV and $0.9 billion in lifetime earnings lost by victims of IPV homicide. The largest proportion of the costs is derived from physical assault victimization because that type of IPV is the most prevalent. The largest component of IPV-related costs is health care, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the total costs.
Due to exclusions of several cost components about which data were unavailable or insufficient (e.g., certain medical services, social services, criminal justice services),the costs presented in this report likely underestimate the problem of IPV in the U.S.

BILLIONS of dollars. No, I didn't make a mistake.
Now. If we just have to have ONE month out of the whole f'n year, were we are bombarded with awareness for a cause, it should be domestic violence. It seems to do more damage to not only individuals but society. Don't believe me? Here's some of the studies of The Effects of Child Abuse and Exposure to Domestic Violence on Adolescent Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior Problems. It's way too long to quote. Plus there's charts. I think some statistic geeks just wet themselves from reading that last sentence. Put on an adult diaper because there's more to come.

According to social learning theory, problematic drinking and violent behavior are learned primarily through social interactions, which are passed down from one generation to the next. In particular, exposure to violence between parents may teach children that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution [63]. Thus, an individual may have acquired (learned) poor coping strategies (i.e., drinking and violence) through modeling dysfunctional behavior exhibited in the family of origin. Social learning theories may be helpful in explaining patterns of intergenerational violence.

Source.
and:

Research indicates that males exposed to domestic violence as children are more likely to engage in domestic violence as adults; similarly, females are more likely to be victims (Brown & Bzostek, 2003). Higher levels of adult depression and trauma symptoms also have been found (Silvern et al., 1995). Exposure to domestic violence is also one of several adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) that have been shown to contribute to premature death, as well as risk factors for many of the most common causes of death in the United States.

Source.
and from the big boys over at the Bureau of Statistics. Family Violence Statistics
Including Statistics on Strangers and Acquaintances
Did all those stats hurt your brain? Good. It means you learned something. Knowledge is power!
When it comes to causes I'd much rather be bombarded with stuff on domestic violence any day. Especially in the wake of all the NFL incidents. Oh....maybe THAT'S why those chose breast cancer. It would look too hypocritical. Another difference is it is okay for us to mock domestic violence in movies/TV. Some one mocks cancer and everyone loses their s**t. As a society we have some pretty f'd up priorities. I'm done now.

To ones who actually read the whole thing. Here you go . Enjoy.

Do not get started on the scam called the run for the cure

And yes it is a scam

I am not posting links on this or troll bait
Go look for the amount of dollars that go from giver to organization to cause
cash flow

These people scam you and like good sheep most donate


Susan Coleman (or whatever it is called) lost all my respect when they backed off their stance

The little theives wined they were hearting(edit hurting) women by not paying for abortions
The money is NOT given to life style choices

If I was in charge I would demand every dollar they are given be accounted for
Yes pap screenings I would pay for
All preventive crap
Damn straight

Aint got the cure but an ounce f prevention does

I would have told planned parenthood to go to hell
Paid doctors in low income areas to GO to the free clinics and preform all the annual screeenings
Bring the birth control pills
(exception in that is has been proven to help aid prevention of BC so screw it I accept that)

Not a dime would they get for anything else


They steal peoples money and pay their employees instead of the cure


So yes my little sub rant is TRUE
Follow the money
If I give you a dollar for Breast cancer treatment
I expect that dollar not to pay for a damn million dollar home
or for lifestyle choices

It is a ponzi scheme at best

The other part here is this
Why do they skip over Domestic Violence awareness

Simple answer to all your questions
Power and control

a reply to: ripcontrol

I stopped supporting and buying products that support Susan G. Komen when this information came to light

Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the huge Breast Cancer Research Charity Fund, has spent over a $1 million in legal fees to sue other charities using the word ‘cure’ in their names. The Komen Foundation is claiming that they own the legal rights to the word ‘cure’ so is taking steps to protect the word as their own trademark.

The large charity has sued more than 100 smaller charities who also happen to use the word ‘cure’ in their names. The Komen Foundation is also suing charities who also choose the color ‘pink’ in support of their colors.

Remember when it was the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation for nearly 20 years? Yeah, so do most people. I had no idea that in 2007 they had legally changed their name to Susan G Komen For The Cure. Then proceeded to sue smaller charities for using the word 'cure'.

There are too many other cancers/illnesses out there that need the awareness and research money. Here are two pics of my bracelet wrist tattoo. Notice which awareness ribbon is missing because no one in my or hubby's family has had it?




**For anyone curious, here are the ribbons on my wrist so far. There is room for more that hopefully won't need to be added
Large white ribbon = Lung cancer (my grandfather, deceased and stepmom, survivor)
Lavender Purple = Turner Syndrome (my oldest daughter)
Royal Blue = Rheumatoid Arthritis (mother-in-law)
Teal = Ovarian/Cervical cancer (myself and my grandmother)
Deep Purple = Pancreatic cancer (hubby's aunt, deceased)

a reply to: halfpint0701

Thank you for your post. I am sorry for your loss. I love your tattoo and hope you won't have to add another ribbon to it.

I knew they changed their name but every one called me nuts. I can't believe the whole suing thing. What crappy thing to do. I feel proud knowing they never go a dime from me.

Susan G Komen is a terrible charity, in my opinion. There has also been tons of allegations of abuse and fraud. Here's just a few example I could find:

Susan Komen CEO's salary draws fire as donations drop, races are canceled

Experts Say Komen’s Financial Data Raise Few Questions