Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Put Your Money to Better Use
I support breast cancer awareness, but not in the typical fashion. I think our money, resources, and focus would be better allocated in different ways, such as educating the public on the prevention of this disease.
As I scroll through Facebook or flip through the channels on
TV, I'm seeing a lot of pink, as I do every October. Because of this, I have
struggled for days trying to write this article eloquently and without
offending anyone who holds this cause so close to their heart.
So here goes nothin'.
I have respect for anyone that is putting his or her time
and money towards a cause that they champion. I respect anyone that has fought
breast cancer, is still fighting, is a survivor, or who has lost their battle.
There is no denying that it is an ugly disease. I'm enlightened to see
champions of the cause; people running marathons and donating money; NFL
players and cheerleaders donning pink uniforms; companies contributing a
percentage of profits to help find a cure. It makes you feel good. It makes you
feel useful. It makes you feel like we're gaining on this disease.
But it makes me feel sad.
If you'd like, you can go on the Internet and research how
little of your donated money actually goes towards "finding a cure".
You can look up the companies that are painting their products pink, only to
keep all the profits. You can research all the entities selling pink products
made with materials and chemicals that actually cause cancer.
To me, this is all irrelevant. I'm not here to be a
whistleblower. I'm here to shift the paradigm. Much of the focus during Breast
Cancer Awareness month is on just that: the awareness. But I'm afraid, we are
aware. So much so, that it's almost suffocating. What's worse? Our awareness is
focused in the wrong area.
We're focusing on finding a cure when there is no cure to be
found.
We're focused on spreading awareness for early detection, as
if everyone will be inflicted with breast cancer.
We're focused on buying pink 'things' that go towards curing
breast cancer, when breast cancer is a preventable disease.
We're focused on blindly feeding ourselves a cancer-causing
diet and allowing ourselves to live in a toxic environment instead of educating
ourselves on the lifestyle-disease correlation. The breast cancer awareness
campaign is far removed from its initial mission to cure cancer. It is now a
profit-producing machine that teaches people how to perpetuate this disease
rather than prevent it.
In college, I was a member of the Zeta Tau Alpha Fraternity,
whose philanthropy is breast cancer education and awareness. I woke up at the
crack of dawn every October to volunteer at Race for the Cure. I swooned over
every pink item I laid eyes on and scraped the money together to purchase it. I
handed out pink ribbons and shoelaces at NFL games. I hosted awareness events
on my campus, collaborated with other organizations that wanted to join the
cause, organized fundraising events, and took pride in reaching philanthropy
goals. I felt so empowered by participating in these things because I, myself
am faced with a 50% chance of developing breast cancer. But I have to wonder,
was my focus misguided? Should I have been teaching my peers how to prevent
cancer? Should I have been offering cooking classes and shopping lessons?
Should I have been researching environmental toxicity? Should my sorority's
priorities have been elsewhere?
Yes.
Today, I want to give you a different route to take. Today,
I want to take a true stance against breast cancer, all other cancers and all
lifestyle diseases. Today I want to show you that there are better ways to
spend your time, efforts and money. Let's shift this paradigm and be part of
the solution.
Here are 5 things you can do with your money during the
month of October OTHER THAN buy pink shit:
1.) Buy vegetables. It's as simple as it sounds. Throw out
that shit you call food in your pantry and go buy some local, fresh, organic
vegetables. Then eat them. If the food you eat was made in a factory, its
creating an environment in your body that cancer loves to live in. If it makes
you feel better, tweet a picture of your newly acquired veggies and proclaim
your dedication to breast cancer prevention. What will it take to get you guys
to a Farmers Market? Pink vegetables?
2.) See a doctor who doesn't prescribe medication. Find a
chiropractor or an integrative doctor or a homeopathic doctor. Let them
evaluate your true state of health and empower you with life-changing habits
that will bring your body back to a healthy state. It's important to see a
professional that will help you figure out what's causing the fire, rather than
help you douse it with water.
3.) Purchase garden supplies. Yes, winter is on our doorstep
but that means garden supplies will be on sale. Get everything you need to grow
your own produce when the weather warms up next year. Spend sometime educating
yourself on how to grow your own food.
4.) Support a different cause. A sustainable food system in
the United States is one that desperately needs our attention and has a direct
impact on the rate of breast cancer in America. Factory farming, GMO practices
and chemicals are killing humans, ruining the planet and creating enormous
health care costs. Pick a cause that needs real help. Find an organization that
raises money for the prevention or alternative treatment of illness rather than
the elusive cure.
5.) Use your money for yourself. There are absolutely
countless ways to improve your health and create an environment in your body in
which cancer cannot possibly live. Join a gym. Purchase food-based supplements.
Take a yoga class. Explore spirituality. Make your own cleaning supplies.
Remove toxins from your home and work environment. Be your own advocate. Don't
leave it up to gigantic organizations that are using your money for marketing
and salaries. Open your eyes. YOU have the power to prevent this disease
In conclusion, let's stop shouting "find a cure!"
Instead, let's empower the public with education. Let's
teach people how they can prevent cancer. Let's explore and, yes, research
other methods of treatments; ones that aren't so toxic to our bodies. Stop
buying pink stuff and start taking accountability for your body! Then you're
truly joining the fight against breast cancer!
0 comments: