Cancer is bigger than October

by Jacki Donaldson (Subscribe to Jacki Donaldson's posts)
Nov 1st 2007 8:00AM

I am happy for October and the overflow of breast cancer awareness packed into each of the month's 31 days. But I'm always a bit relieved when these days come to an end. It means I can get back to living, free of the bombardment of facts of figures, and cutesy slogans, and of all things pink.

I'm lucky to be surviving breast cancer and not another form of cancer. Breast cancer gets attention, funding, programming, and lots of great press. But it makes me feel selfish, spoiled, like I'm hogging too many of the resources that could be spread around to others doing battle with their own deadly diseases.

Where are the other awareness months? Actually, there are a few -- March is the National Colorectal Awareness Month, September is the Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness Month, May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month -- but we don't know much about them because people aren't shouting from the rafters about these critical causes, like they are about breast cancer.

It's not that it's unfair -- it's due to powerful and driven individuals, many of them survivors themselves, that breast cancer organizations and associations and walks and talks have proliferated our society. I don't know about all the pink products -- these may be nothing but money-making ventures -- but what a testament to the breast cancer community that the word is out about this horrible disease.

My wish is that more information was readily available for those whose cancers are just as devastating as mine. Thank goodness October is over. Now we can get down to the business of discussing more than just breast cancer. Hey, November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Let's start there.

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Meg Wolff 11-01-2007 @ 9:05PM

Speaking of colorectal cancer, have you seen the USA Today Article?

At a hotel this morning, I picked up a copy of USA Today and saw this front-page article: "Study Strongly Links Fat, Cancer."

I read it and thought ... Well, it's about time! For those of you who haven't read it yet, this article flat out says that a landmark study by the American Institute for Cancer Research & The World Cancer Research Fund shows that, "Every 1.7 ounces of processed meat consumed increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 21%"..."beef, pork, and lamb." It goes on to advise "limiting red meat to 18 ounces of cooked meat a week."

The article goes on to say that, "the report is drawing fire from the food industry." The National Pork Board & The National Cattleman's Beef Association is up in arms about the report. "Mary Young of the National Cattleman's Beef Association says the group engaged scientists (their scientists?) to review the scientific literature on the topic, and they concluded there is no evidence red meat causes cancer."

So, my BIG questions again are these: Can our doctors now put this important nutritional "piece of the cancer puzzle" into their practices? Will the American Cancer Society focus on this, too? Can we keep this information in the media's focus so that it becomes real to people?

I'm certain we'll be seeing articles by scientists and journalists who work for these powerful food industries, trying to discredit this important research, or confuse the general public with articles saying the opposite. I hope not, but I've seen it all too often. This information needs to be out there so that people can make the necessary dietary changes to help with cancer prevention and recovery. Everyone needs this important and life-saving information!