Sick and Tired of PINK?

October is breast cancer awareness month...what? You didn't know that?  It's kind of hard to miss. I recently heard someone talk about feeling sorry for the other cancers that are not pink.  I hear lots of people talking about "pink fatigue" and being "tired" of pink. ME TOO!!  It's not even my color.  I wish pink was just a color again.  Though here I am going SURVIVOR GIRL PINK. IN MY HAIR!

WHY?

Pink isn't just a color - it's a symbol and a visual reminder to talk about the previously unspeakable topics of "cancer" and "breasts" in the same sentence.  Did you know that when Nancy Brinker held her first race for the cure, 29 years ago in Dallas, TX (SHOUT OUT) the Dallas Morning News covered the event but could not write the word breast in print.  29 years ago - that is in most of our lifetimes.  She writes in her book "Promise Me" about asking companies for their support of the cause and being turned down because they didn't want to be associated with cancer.

Where would we be if one woman's promise to a sister didn't send her on a crusade to pink the world so somebody, anybody would take notice of this disease?  Let's face it, women's health hasn't always been at the forefront of medical breakthroughs.

So all this pink...it's a big, bold statement of how far we have come!  Big burly football men are even sporting it, which is causing little boys to start wearing it and most of all, PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT IT.  It's only when we talk and share that action happens...and we're not there yet but I have to believe we are on the edge of figuring this cancer thing out. And if the advances are made in breast cancer or prostate cancer or ovarian cancer or lung cancer or leukemia...I have to believe it will unlock the mystery and help everyone.

I hope that all this pink makes every woman, man and child going through this experience know they are not alone. ...and that one day, we will figure this thing out and say "remember when people got breast cancer."