October is one of my favorite months of the year.
The cool breezes, the changing leaves, the crisp blue skies …
But recent years has brought a new message our way which is permeating every media outlet imaginable and is anything but enjoyable.
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in America and with it comes an annual pinkwashing of the grandest proportions.
Pink gloves and cleats on NFL players, pink sweat bands and referee flags, and pink ribbons worn by TV commentators. Even the National Anthem has been pinkwashed with a giant pink flag in the shape of a ribbon replacing the American flag during the singing of this patriotic song prior to professional sporting events!
To me, this is not only extremely unpatriotic, but downright insulting to our men and women in uniform.
What are these people thinking? Is it so incredibly much to ask for people to actually think before they pink?
Even for those of us who see through the pink propaganda and ignore the media stupidity can’t seem to get away from the zombie like hypnosis that comes over people with regard to supporting the marketing bonanza that is “Breast Cancer Industry Month”.
I was shocked last week when the team manager for one of my children’s sporting teams pushed to have the children wear pink ribbon socks during games for the month of October.
I politely declined. There’s no way my child will be used as a pawn to support the message of pink hypocrisy that the Susan B. Komen Foundation represents – the organization primarily behind October pink ribbon madness.
“Komen for the Cure”?
Fat chance.
More like “Komen for the Cause”.
A story in Mother Jones explains how Komen continues to insist that bisphenol-A (BPA) exposure via plastics is safe despite more than 130 scientific studies demonstrating a clear connection between bisphenol-A (BPA) exposure and breast cancer. In addition, early exposure to BPA promotes early puberty which is a strong risk factor for breast cancer later in life.
Moreoever, Komen aggressively mobilizes businesses to display the pink ribbon or color a product pink as a message of “hope” for the “cure”.
This completely unethical raising of funds enlists these businesses to donate portions of their sales revenues to Komen even though many of these products contain carcinogenic, GMO and highly toxic ingredients.
Where does all the millions upon millions of dollars go that the Komen Foundation rakes in every year?
For fiscal year 2009/2010, Komen contributions included: $141 million for education, $47 million for health screening, and $75 million for research. Fundraising costs and affiliate expenses were approximately $60 million and general administrative costs at $37 million.
- Not one
pinkred cent went into education about how diet greatly affects the development of cancer, particularly how cancer thrives on sugar and other toxic foods. No mention of avoiding junk food and eating whole, organic foods. - Komen refuses to acknowledge nontoxic screening alternatives to mammograms. These include thermography and even better, breast ultrasounds which are zero radiation, no compression alternatives that find breast cancer far earlier than mammograms! It is well known that mammograms cause cancer and result in misdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment of thousands of women every single year. In addition, there is zero evidence that mammograms save lives in the majority of cases.
- The “research” funded by Komen is for the pharmaceutical industry only. Not a dime for Dr. Burzynski in Houston or Dr. Gonzalez in New York (a recent recipient of the Integrity in Science Award from the Weston A. Price Foundation) who are both practicing safe, holistic and highly effective cancer treatments as compared to the living death that is conventional chemo/radiation. Even though Suzanne Somers beat her breast cancer with mistletoe extract injections and wrote a bestseller about it, Komen hasn’t even consulted with her.
Here’s the bitter truth. Komen doesn’t want a cure. Pinkwashing is far too lucrative.
How are you opting out of the pinkwashing madness this month?
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Sources and More Information
Where does all the Komen for the Cure money really go?
The Dangers of Estrogenic Foods, Herbs and Supplements to Breast Health
Susan B. Komen Financial Statements, 2009/2010
Helloooo….what about artificial contraception and abortion……you never hear those things mentioned come October…..
I have always opted out. I was especially glad after the Komen – Planned Parenthood blowup. Abortion and the pill are both preventable risk factors in breast cancer. Why would Komen help fund PP other than to help themselves maintain their reason for existing!
…and protective benefits of breastfeeding…I’ve been waiting for 25+ years to hear mention of it in more mainstream media (not holding my breath of course!).
Please provide links to (truly scientific) studies that link breast cancer to abortion. (That means Pat Robertson doesn’t qualify.)
Read Dr Brind’s work. He is tenured and not beholden to Big Pharma’s purse strings. How about showing us an independent study proving your point (not a meta analysis) that has no affiliation to big pharma? What does Pat Roberson have to do with it? Why are you here if your mind is made up?
Gosh, I’m here to learn new things – obviously not why you are!
I really appreciate the person here who provided a link to some very interesting research and reporting. It really opened my eyes about abortion and breast cancer. Always happy to see some facts instead of opinion masquerading as facts.
Melinda, you are acting like a bratty child who can’t get her way. It is extremely immature and rude. Think before you speak. We are people with opinions and you are trying to force yours on others. That is not ok. That is what I am against. FORCING OTHERS.
So, in your world, any opinion that is not in line with YOUR opinion is someone “forcing” their ideas on others? That’s so funny!
On blogs like Sarah’s we learn a lot from her research, time and efforts. Then we maybe learn more from the comments. But if the comments are simply an echo chamber for one point of view that’s 1) boring and 2) useless.
I asked a perfectly polite question in here and someone who understands debate actually DID provide a link to information that’s new to me. I thanked him/her and noted how interesting it is. In Watchmom world that’s “bratty”? Wow. Really glad NOT to be your child. (Also, not real interested in a debate with someone who casually hurls insults instead of sticking to facts from which we all might learn something.)
I was horrified on Oct 2 when my big tall handsome firefighter son came in wearing a PINK shirt!! Oh yes, its that time of the year again:-/ All the nice politically correct fire departments in my area go PINK for the month. Poor men, who are every ounce real men, are forced to promote pink all month. I have noticed the fire trucks in the metroplex are even decorated with huge pink reflector tape and ribbons. Unfortunately participation is not a choice if you want to keep your job.
As for my husband and I, if we go to buy a product and all they have is an unnaturally pink model or a pink ribbon on it anywhere – well, we didn’t need that item as much as we thought we did. We will never buy it! Most of the products I see with pink ribbons are the opposite of healthy anyway:-/
Yes Pat, I have always been skeptical of anything that I was not allowed to opt out of at the hospital I worked at for 29 yrs. I remember when it all started and they would just ask if you wanted to stick some cash in a jar…fast forward and now you must sign a paper with 3 copies and one goes to HR, and one goes to the charity and one goes to you. All must be signed in front of your supervisor. I am retired now, as I refused to take a flu shot. Anyone see where this is going? God save America.
You must be very unsure of their masculinity if you think that wearing a pink shirt somehow diminishes their maleness. “Poor men” indeed. What a ridiculous stereotype.
You do like to cause trouble,don’t you, Melinda? You will really have fun with the idea that we raised our boys to dress like men and our girls to dress like ladies:-) Doesn’t matter – they are not looking to the world for their identity or their masculinity.
I just find it amusing that in the 21st century a COLOR can be thought to define a person’s gender/sexuality. After all, you didn’t say they had to wear skirts, just that their shirts were (gasp!) pink!
The PC sensitivity police is out in force! Why are you picking on someone who makes a comment about men and pink shirts?
I’m sorry it pains you so much that some people are not as “modern” as you.
Maybe the mature and modern approach would be to not inject your bias and prejudice and instead sticking to the subject matter.
Right… ” every ounce real men ” what exactly does that mean? What is a REAL man? One who does not wear pink? Silly you!
You missed her point. It’s not about being men “real” or not. It’s about an employer forcing its employees to participate in something they may or may not support.
Hi — this is Andrea Rader at Komen and I thought I’d direct you to our website where you can read about our research investment http://ww5.komen.org/ResearchGrants/GrantPrograms.html (which is second only to the U.S. government). Here also is a link to a Huffington Post blog guest post by our new CEO Dr. Judy Salerno regarding Komen’s investments in preventive and environmental research (now totaling more than $100 million). http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nancy-brown/breast-cancer-awareness_b_4040121.html. We’re also collaborating with Dr. Susan Love and the Young Survival Coalition in a large on-line study aiming to get to prevention of breast cancer, which all women and men are invited to participate in at http://www.healthofwomenstudy.org. Thank you.
umm….Andrea when you start actually publishing the true increase in breast cancer risk when someone consumes artificial contraceptives and/or has an abortion maybe I’ll think about being pink!
Amen!!!
Just an FYI… abortion does not increase the risk of breast cancer. See this link: http://www.cancer.org/cancer/breastcancer/moreinformation/is-abortion-linked-to-breast-cancer
Here is a short quote from the article. “At this time, the scientific evidence does not support the notion that abortion of any kind raises the risk of breast cancer or any other type of cancer.”
It is always important to be thorough. I commend you, Sarah, for challenging the “system.” I would also like to hear your response to Andrea’s information.
Ah, yes….damage control! Always worth a try, I suppose.
Andrea, I will pray for you to see the truth of about what you are doing. We will answer for what we do with our life. You have been deceived.
Andrea Rader…. I just clicked on the links you put here. Looks like they just confirm everything written in the article by Sarah. When I clicked on the last one and it took me to a web page asking me for my personal details I automatically switched off.
Umm, yeah, about those, Andrea – you know full well that all that funding “your” organization gives to PP goes to abortions.. they do NO mammos at PP, and you know it. It is proven that these abortions that “your” organization help fund actually INCREASES breast cancer risk. Not to mention the no-brainer hypocrisy of killing babies – females are naturally included – in the name of saving females. How in God’s green earth does that make any sense to anyone who has a molecule of a brain?? That is my main reason I boycott Koman events and outreaches, and, also because of your organization, the color pink makes me sick because of the deceit. Another blow to your “credibility” is the fact you site HuffPo. Really?? That Liberal rag????
Sarah – thank you for writing this, and letting those of us who are really paying attention know we are not alone in catching this deception.
Goodness knows there are plenty of ways to argue about abortion, but it really does not help you make your points if you provide FALSE information. There is NO credible research showing a link between abortion and breast cancer. Not one.
You can always tell how persuasive an argument really is, if proponents have to lie to get people to agree – as evidenced right here by Sarah unveiling the untruths behind the Komen argument.
I love this blog, real food and cannot stand the Komen Foundation, but wow. All I can do is shake my head at this ludicrous comment. There is no connection between abortion and breast cancer. You need to do some serious research.
I’m always open to new FACTUAL information. Please provide link(s) to non-partisan, actually scientific studies that demonstrate such a link. I’m betting you can’t.
Well, this is a few days late, and you may not consider it non-partisan because it is a pro-life organization compiling the studies (which themselves are, by the way, actually scientific and non-partisan). But if you’ll read it with an open mind as you so lovingly recommend to others, you might actually change your mind.
One major problem seems to be that people (or should I say “sheeple” as your sista did below) are so mystifyingly intent on proving abortion is an acceptable practice that they’ll utterly blind themselves to facts. I just pray that you have the humility to realize it one day.
But why believe the people most concerned for the innocent when you could believe the people most concerned with preserving their own status? Why believe those interested in the common health of our nation when you could believe those most interested in increasing their profits? Why? Because it doesn’t fit the agenda. And aren’t the pink-washers glad to take advantage? Yes they are.
there’s no such thing as bipartisan in science today. all you can do is look at the study itself to determine validity.
Where is your massive, no-one-could-avoid-seeing-it, campaign to get the word out to women that vitamin D deficiency hugely increases breast cancer risk, so get your levels checked and get them where they need to be??
None of your pink ribbon trash saved my Mom….but enough funding to have gotten that vitamin D research out a couple of years earlier might have. She was almost certainly very deficient.
Really fantastic article. The massive advertising done by the Komen organization should be warning enough as they clearly must be well-moneyed thus able to push an agenda. When is the last time you saw a natural therapy for cancer being advertised on a major billboard?
This is just an example of heavy marketing tactics. As I sit here and type this, my TV is on. They just opened another cancer center at Cooper. WTF, I don’t call this entertainment and don’t want to watch it. All these kinds of advertisements is precisely why I don’t have my TV on much anymore.
Let’s teach a women how to eat properly. Radically reduce sugar intake. Eat more mushrooms and greens.
They will never go there! They’d rather keep building more and more cancer buildings.
I don’t know about you, but I am sick of their cut, burn and poison techniques!
This is an absolute disgrace! I smell greed, greed, and more greed!!
Incredible courage to take on the Pink Propaganda – can’t people ever peel back the exterior and see for themselves what all this is hiding?
My family knows personally someone who was treated by Dr. Gonzalez – stage 4 pancreatic cancer and was healed! Amazing, isn’t it – and a well deserved reward to all the heros who buck the system….and to you for highlighting this shameful hypocrisy.
Once again Sarah thank you for a frank article. I really thought the pink spikes and towels went too far and it so reminded me of the Seinfeld episode of Kramer not wearing the ribbon. You know you are probably going to get blasted for this article. You got guts. 🙂
The pinkwashed general populace can blast away all they want. The truth is the truth and the facts are the facts regarding the Komen Foundation which is nothing more than a charitable front for Big Pharma cut/poison/burn. Hiding ill deeds behind a facade of benevolence is a marketing strategy that Monsanto has perfected and other organizations like Komen are copying because it works. Thanks for the support 🙂
Exactly. With all the money that gets funneled into these “charitable” cancer organizations, you would think they’d have found a cure by now. Hahaha…not going to happen. People need to stop throwing their money into these bottomless pits.
Thanks for speaking the truth. I know that when I share the truth with friends I am looked at like I’m crazy. So much disease goes back to diet and nobody wants to hear it because so many women have little interest in preparing healthy meals at home anymore. Its truly a sad statement of where we are at in America.
Amen! I love that Seinfeld episode! 🙂
We opt out of everything to do with pink washing and I just don’t care. I also hate being asked at the checkout counter if I want to contribute $ to whatever charity. No thanks.
When asked if I want to contribute to the “pink campaign”, I give them the facts on the business and tell them to research it for themselves to get the proof. They usually either stand there with mouth and eyes wide open or sheepishly try to hide….
What other facts do you have. I agree with this article and am always looking for info to share. I have been diagnosed with DCIS and after research I went the natural route using Bio-Meridian screening, Zyto Scans and Thermography to follow my progress. I am now a CNHP and ZYTO Technician and am studying for my ND (only because certifications speak) and love getting the word out about natural-alternative ways to wellness. I use EMF’s products, Mudpack Interference Fields, Homeopathy, and more.
I love that we can share in this concern it has gotten out of hand.
Apparently Kroger is 100% on board and every cashier has to ask every customer if they would like to contribute to cancer research. I’m not sure how I am going to manage hearing that another time. I tried the no thank you with an explanation, but the cashier looks at me like a deer in the headlights – I’m the crazy one!
So many people in so many places on the bandwagon – professional sports teams, etc – how can so many people be so deceived?
Self-checkout?
This is an excellent article and more people need to know that the Koman organization is far from wanting a cure for cancer. The millions they raise are diverting funds from orgs/people that are actually trying to find a cure. Susan Koman died of cancer when she was around 36. Her sister promised her she would dedicate her life to finding a cure. Instead, she has dedicated her life to a big fat paycheck in the area of $600,000. The Koman foundation is still reeling from the backlash when they decided not to fund Planned Parenthood. Susan’s sister, who is CEO, was suppose to step down. But several months later she returned getting a huge salary increase. The whole pink thing is disgusting.There is a cure out there, but big business like Koman and the drug and medical industries don’t want to pursue it because it would be the end of their cash cow. Just say no to pink. Good for you Sarah.
Thank you for researching and sharing this information. I am shocked at how companies are getting new business doing pink merchandise, yet no public service announcements are out there educating people on ways to reduce risk. The worst part is enlisting children to participate by wearing pink, doing runs and so on. This probably scares innocent little children as they cannot discern if maybe their mom might die.