Write On Peggy Orenstein
Today I am grateful for a good day at work yesterday. Planned activities for our safe driving campaign went well. I am also grateful for the many footfalls that carried me through my day yesterday.
The month of May brings my breast cancer diagnosis anniversary and a similar anniversary for others I know.
It's been a cancer-weighted couple of weeks on the periphery of my life... a cancer death, a couple new diagnoses, a return to work for a co-worker, a fundraising benefit for a young cancer patient. People I know, people I only know of. Thoughts of cancer don't fill my mind most of the time. Some days I barely think about it . . . putting on my prosthetics is habit, taking my Tamoxifen just part of the routine. But then times like this come along, and I get a bit inundated.
And then Peggy Orenstein's recent cover story in the New York Times magazine came to my attention through the blogging community. I quickly set to work reading the article, titled "Our Feel-Good War on Breast Cancer." It is very well-written and clearly states the problems with current breast cancer protocol and the pervasive pink ribbon culture.
You can read it here.
Orenstein has now had breast cancer treated twice (the first time in 1996 and a local recurrence last year.) After her first diagnosis, she wrote an article about mammograms and felt she was one of those whose life was saved by a mammogram. She came to regret writing that first article as she continued to learn about the intricacies of breast cancer (which isn't just one cancer, it's several different kinds) and also about how detrimental the whole "early detection saves lives" awareness campaign has been in ways.
She has credibility as a writer and someone who has experienced cancer herself, but her article isn't about her own experience, it encapsulates where we've been and where we need to go to make a difference with this disease. BC is such an emotionally charged issue that many can't see past their own experience, or that of a loved one. Cancer patient or not, I encourage you to read this article and consider the bigger picture. It clearly lays out the drawbacks of pink ribbon culture and also tries to bring the emphasis (for funding and other attention) to where it belongs: solving the conundrum of DCIS (so women aren't overdiagnosed and overtreated) and working to help those currently living with metastatic disease.
Even if you don't agree with everything she has to say, please give it a chance. I found it affirming and very informative. Thanks Peggy Orenstein. Write on!
The month of May brings my breast cancer diagnosis anniversary and a similar anniversary for others I know.
It's been a cancer-weighted couple of weeks on the periphery of my life... a cancer death, a couple new diagnoses, a return to work for a co-worker, a fundraising benefit for a young cancer patient. People I know, people I only know of. Thoughts of cancer don't fill my mind most of the time. Some days I barely think about it . . . putting on my prosthetics is habit, taking my Tamoxifen just part of the routine. But then times like this come along, and I get a bit inundated.
And then Peggy Orenstein's recent cover story in the New York Times magazine came to my attention through the blogging community. I quickly set to work reading the article, titled "Our Feel-Good War on Breast Cancer." It is very well-written and clearly states the problems with current breast cancer protocol and the pervasive pink ribbon culture.
You can read it here.
Orenstein has now had breast cancer treated twice (the first time in 1996 and a local recurrence last year.) After her first diagnosis, she wrote an article about mammograms and felt she was one of those whose life was saved by a mammogram. She came to regret writing that first article as she continued to learn about the intricacies of breast cancer (which isn't just one cancer, it's several different kinds) and also about how detrimental the whole "early detection saves lives" awareness campaign has been in ways.
She has credibility as a writer and someone who has experienced cancer herself, but her article isn't about her own experience, it encapsulates where we've been and where we need to go to make a difference with this disease. BC is such an emotionally charged issue that many can't see past their own experience, or that of a loved one. Cancer patient or not, I encourage you to read this article and consider the bigger picture. It clearly lays out the drawbacks of pink ribbon culture and also tries to bring the emphasis (for funding and other attention) to where it belongs: solving the conundrum of DCIS (so women aren't overdiagnosed and overtreated) and working to help those currently living with metastatic disease.
Even if you don't agree with everything she has to say, please give it a chance. I found it affirming and very informative. Thanks Peggy Orenstein. Write on!
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