Compelled to Post

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign to raise awareness about the impact of breast cancer. Join us as we RISE together to help uplift women in need. 

(National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc.) 

October was rolling along for me, busy with life. Unlike most Octobers, I hadn't felt compelled to write about breast cancer. Last weekend, my husband Darcy and I were out for a bike ride in a neighboring community and our route happened to be the route of a fundraiser for a Komen 3-day walk team. Their walk was winding down, but they had done some chalk drawings on the trail that caught my eye.

There was a mixed bag. From "Feck cancer" to "Cancer is harder." (referencing walking 60 miles is easier than dealing with a diagnosis.) There was also "No one fights alone."  These I can embrace and appreciate.

The "We love boobs" and "Save the boobies" and pictures like this one below, they rankle me a bit.

That's my shadow, some female anatomy, and a random leaf that looks a little surreal.  Women and breast cancer being sexualized and objectified. I have two things to ask: 

1) Have you ever seen anything similar to these words and visuals for the most common cancer impacting male anatomy? 

2) Can we agree that, while saving breasts is definitely important, saving lives is so much more the goal? (All the pink and catchy phrases and businesses out to make a buck have distracted us from this real goal for decades.) 

I could raise plenty of awareness about the impact of breast cancer simply by raising my shirt. I wouldn't do that publicly. People would be shocked. Why aren't we shocked at some of these other public campaigns that seem to forget it's not about the breasts as much as it is about the research into causes and cures?  Cancer victims are often honored at these walks. Are we really honoring them?  Are we doing our best?