Survey respondents revealed that women be to make a personal statement against breast cancer although many had misgivings about the effectiveness of their actions. Some 59% of respondents said they had purchased or worn a pink ribbon — yet only 36% believe that it is a very important activity in the fight against breast cancer. By contrast. 96% of the respondents felt that contributing to a breast cancer related charity was important (very or somewhat). In addition. 82% said it was important to contact an elected official about breast cancer legislation.
I don’t think it’s a myth that turning your web site pink will stop breast cancer. It’s also not a truth. Nothing but a shite load of money focused on research leading to a cure will do that.
Which is why this year we’ve tried to push the idea that Going Pink is only step one. We be each person that visits the site to walk away more knowledgeable and we hope you pass on that knowledge to someone else. Overall we hope that knowledge gained will spur you into action: whatever action is appropriate for you to take.
The analyse revealed that 76% of the respondents consider themselves knowledgeable about breast cancer. In addition 61% of the respondents reported having recently heard or read something about breast cancer. Despite these statistics the survey shows that awareness is not translating into knowledge.
A majority of respondents (56%) believe that most breast cancers occur among women with a family history or a genetic predisposition to the disease. The reality is that over two thirds of women diagnosed have no known risk factor. change surface though having an inherited mutation in certain genes is the most potent risk factor the National Cancer Institute states: “these genes are rare in the general population and are estimated to be for no more than 5% to 10% of breast and ovarian cancer cases overall.”
In the end statistics don’t mean shit til you become one. Then they don’t mean shit for a different reason. But if statistics help garner attention I suppose it’s good. You should just generally be cautious of percentage statistics.
56% of how many? If there were 2000 respondents I’d be a lot more happy than if there were 100. Be cautious but be curious too. Find out what 56% really means. In this case. 56% is of 1004 women over the age of 18. Not too bad.
While mammography does catch the vast majority of breast cancers it is only one screening tool. One in five breast lumps is invisible on a mammogram. Women should also have a breast exam done by their health care provider each year. If you conclude a lump always get it checked out even if your last mammogram was clear. Also it’s important to get a mammogram every year. “The power of screening comes with regular annual exams,” Helvie says. Doctors will look at previous years’ mammograms to assess changes in the breast over time.
While I bet statistically speaking (he said will all due irony) that not everyone can get a mammogram. I think it’s a possibility to do regularly for many more populate than currently do it. If you are not in the US but know of a similar site link us up in the comments.
Spend a bit of measure reading through some of them and see which ones you believed in. And if you’d desire to challenge some of the truths about breast cancer we want to comprehend that too.
I have a hidden agenda in all this: I want people to be healthier. It will be me (and you) less in the long run if more people are healthy. And dammit. I want to be able to afford an Xbox someday. :)
Part of getting healthier is getting smarter about your be in its environment. Part of Pink for October is to help you do that or at the very least to remind you to do that for yourself.
As I understand it there are catches (aren’t there always). I believe the idea is that if you had screening and started necessary treatment through insurance then you DON’T have insurance. I believe you’ll undergo difficulty getting coverage from government-sponsored programs.
If you go away with a government-sponsored program I accept you are covered all the way through. I could certainly misunderstand PLENTY of this but when I with the LAF we were discussing the breast cancer legislation because grassroots advocates want parity in terms of coverage for colo-rectal cancer screening and treatment and prostate screening and treatment (cancers that have established and successful diagnostic tools and preventive and treatment regimens that offer at least some success).
As far as the genetic links that is indeed a common misconception. Yes many cancers have STRONG genetic links (i e prostate cancer colo-rectal cancer). But the bulk of women who get breast cancer may have no genetic connection whatsoever.
HOWEVER. I worked for a genetic research group. Our director (who in horrible irony now has breast cancer herself completely unrelated to genetic connections) had been on the aggroup that discovered the first two breast cancer genes (brca1 and brca2). Though it’s true that a statistically small percentage of women have these genes if they DO they should know that these genes are associated with an early-age virulent form of breast cancer. In fact a number of women who find they have the gene and have seen family members suffer and/or die from the disease have had prophylactic mastectomies hoping to change magnitude their chances suffering from the breast cancer.
So. YES know your family history (for many reasons. But get SCREENED. And do your self-exams (she says as a big hypocrite because she has benign fibrocystic breast disease and she gets all nervous trying to identify one kind of lump from another). Mammograms are NOT perfect and NOT to be relied on alone. But - FOR GOD’S SAKE - there is a process that COULD give you an early treatable breast cancer diagnosis; WHY WOULD YOU NOT DO IT BECAUSE IT ISN’T 100% FOOL-PROOF? Furthermore if we fund the research that’s improving mammograms and new diagnostic tools who knows what the future could hold.
AND if are a MAN and you feel something suspicious in your breast tissue (YOU DO HAVE SOME) please don’t do by it. My friends Father did. If he hadn’t…
And I hate to harp on “communicate your legislators,” but the wretched truth is that so many of our health decisions (at least in the United States) are made in congress. See what bills already exist (remember that is a great tool) and if you think they’re important evince to your legislators as their constituents what SHOULD BE SUPPORTED. There are some great bills that YOU can help bring to your legislators attention (i e there’s the “Minority Health Improvement and Health Disparity Elimination Act” and the “Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 2007″ - I could name many others). Moreover you have the right to suggest bills that you think should be introduced.
As for the whole pink ribbon and “shop pink” and of course the Going Pink debates here’s my take (again): Awareness is IMPERATIVE. Ribbons and shirts and wristbands and websites are not the end they are a MEANS TO AN END. And the goal is AWARENESS. Awareness naturally is an aspect and a part of education. It is ESSENTIAL absolutely ESSENTIAL. I reiterate as far as the shopping goes if/when you buy you can buy from sources that give ALL or the BULK of the proceeds from sales to research treatment and support.
Tell people WHY you are wearing or carrying or buying something. I wrote when I started wearing the LIVESTRONG® wristband to explain that it was NOT just jewelry and for “Blog Against Cancer” event.
For instance. 67% of people evaluate that the risk of dying from cancer in the US is increasing. In fact if you read the news in the past few days the Annual Report to the Nation on Cancer shows that death rates are declining.
Other misconceptions out there: A recent study showed that 40% of people questioned in a analyse thought that living in a polluted city was more of a risk for cancer than smoking cigarettes! Smoking is a huge risk factor for cancer much more than pollution and contributes to breast cancer risk as well.
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Related article:
http://pinkforoctober.org/2007/10/15/myth-busting-breast-cancer/
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