In Which I Become a True Eugenian

I love the Eugene Weekly, mostly because it has Dan Savage, but I also enjoy reading the Letters to the Editor. They're usually written by the same 4 people carping about the police state of Eugene and protecting our neighborhoods from Nike and/or illegal immigrants, etc...

But last week this letter made me want to set the paper on fire:

THINK BEFORE PINK

I would like to thank you for not succumbing to the trend that has, once again, pinkwashed so many this month. In honor of the annual façade that is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), everything from shoes to booze to buckets of abused, genetically modified chicken are now covered in pink, not to mention the sexual innuendos that have crept from Facebook status’ (I like it on the floor) to the t-shirts of teenage girls. It seems we’ve lost sight of the fact that cancer is a disease, not a joke. Furthermore, the hypocrisy of the NBCAM promoting “preventative” drugs and mammograms (the radiation from which can actually cause cancer) has me wondering whether or not the industry is concerned with cancer prevention, or in fact cancer recruitment.

In the wake of this pink tradition one would think that breast cancer “awareness” would result in less breast cancer, right? Wrong. Women today in the United States have a one in eight chance of being diagnosed with the disease, an increase from only 25 years ago when the campaign began. If women are not benefiting or profiting from the campaign, then who is? NBCAM has become nothing more than a swine merchant, the money hungry daughter of the Cancer Industry, and friend of Big Pharma.

We don’t need cancer-inducing drugs shoved down our throats as a means of preventing cancer. Breast cancer can be prevented naturally. We need an honest non-profit organization to inspire healthy lifestyles and educate; no more corporate agenda, no more exploiting our breasts and sexualizing women in the name of awareness. Education is prevention. Think before you pink!

Brittney Arlint, Eugene

I got angry, REALLY angry, and wanted to go find Brittney and kick her ass with my cancer-riddled un-natural body, because, of course, my unhealthy lifestyle is what gave me cancer. So, being of unsound mind and body, I rattled off an email to the Weekly and felt better immediately. I sometimes write letters to my grandmother or my friend Kelly -- they won't get them, but I feel better just getting it all out on paper. That's kind of how I saw this one. Since it wasn't a letter about the downtown blah-blah-blah zone or making pot legal I figure they'd file it.

This week it was printed. Friends, I am officially now one of those carping Eugene people:

PINK MONTH OK

In response to “Think Before Pink” (letters, 11/4): You need to think before you write. I also have problems with October being “Pink Month,” but not for your anti-corporate reasons. I have stage IV breast cancer. Stage IV survivors don’t get much of the donation money because most of it goes to paying for early detection and women who can’t afford mammograms. But does this mean I’m against Pink Month? No. I think using a disease that’s killing me to sell pink knick-knacks is troubling, but I also know that without those free mammograms many more would be in my shoes and I know that’s wrong.

Buying pink products means someone out there breathes a sigh of relief when the results come or when the doctor pronounces them cancer free. I’ll never be cancer free, but if buying a pink bracelet means someone else will be, then ring it up.

By the way, I had the lump before I’d ever had a mammogram, so mammogram radiation didn’t cause it. Breast cancer does not run in my family, and I was active before fatigue and pain slowed me down — I rode my bicycle to work and school; my cousin and I enjoyed hiking the Skinner Butte or Silver Falls — so it wasn’t caused by lack of exercise, another myth. Oh, and I didn’t take any Big Pharma drugs that “caused” my cancer unless you count Tylenol, but if that’s the culprit, then I guess everyone’s in trouble.

So, here’s a reality check for you: A “healthy lifestyle” may help you get through treatment, but it won’t save you from getting cancer. Before you sucker into that load of garbage talk to an oncologist or, hell, give me a call, I’ll tell you what cancer’s really like.

Li'l Hateful, Eugene

I guess I can stop shaving my legs now and wear tie-dye. It's all over.