link--this

Gez...If I thought this was going to cause so much controversary I never would have told Robyn. Perhaps next time when I see something interesting & I tell you about it Robyn, we will keep it between us. People in my life have been affected by several different types of illnesses, from prostate cancer, to lyme disease, chronic fatigue, lung cancer, heart disease, lymphoma, to even breast cancer. Because of this I have made a point to try & raise awarness & money for several causes that are important to me. What have you done Jake about causes that are important to you (besides of course try and make a Hallmark ornament something other then a nice thing)?

A very good friend of mine who is only 26 and married just 5 months was just diagnosed with breast cancer. So when I saw this ornament I bought it, when I go to the Post Office I spend an extra $.08 on stamps to buy the Breast Cancer Awareness Stamps. I told a few people about the ornament. That does not mean I still do not care about other illnesses & diseases. What it does mean is there is another way I can try & help bring about an end to Breast Cancer.

If you think other illnesses out there deserve more attention, then do something about it. Start a campaign, hell join a campaign already in progress. Don't just sit there and complain that something is getting more attention then something that is important to you. Do something about it.

Robyn is right, playing the "my illness is more important than yours" is stupid & gets us no where as a society. It wont help any of the causes any of us care about.

¤ ¤ credit: Lynn in TX | 11.21.02 at 06:36 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

Besides knowing women who've had breast cancer, my mom had her sixth cancer operation last July and is still in a rehabilitation hospital weaning off the ventilator because half of her diaphram was paralyzed during the surgery. It's not breast cancer but a different, rarer kind but I believe that supporting breast cancer research also leads to treatments and identifications for MANY types of cancer. I'm just glad people care enough to give their time and money to any cause like this (and I really don't think the heart or lung associations are being left behind at all). Awareness changes all the time, look how much press there was about colon cancer recently because Katie Couric rallied the attention. Every cause needs a flag bearer and maybe prostate cancer doesn't have one yet but it will someday, sooner if more men start going to the doctor regularly to get diagnosed before it's too late to help them. It's not like they don't know it exists but no amount of extra advertising will get the guys I know in for a regular checkup.

¤ ¤ credit: Lauri | 11.21.02 at 06:58 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

Jake,
The statistic you don't see is how many women "survive" breast cancer. What makes it a "national obsession" is not how many people die from it, it's how many people are affected by it. My aunt is a breast cancer "survivor". 22 years ago she lost both breasts. She finally gave up wearing the prosthetics about 5 years ago. Unfortunately, breasts, no matter how big or small, are what define women most. Not just sexually, but in motherhood as well. Currently, the most common "cure" for breast cancer is removal of the breast. When a woman loses her breast she faces a whole boatload of problems including her own family looking at her differently. Luckily for my aunt, my uncle's love for her goes deep enough to see past missing breasts and allowed him to stay true through years of depression and sorrow.

Let me put it in a perspective you can see clearer. How big do you think the "national obsession" would be if penis cancer was as common as breast cancer and the only "cure" was to cut off 4 inches? How much would you care then? I suspect your favorite conspiracy theory then would be that the media isn't giving it enough attention.

¤ ¤ credit: a different Bill | 11.22.02 at 09:37 AM | link--this ¤ ¤

Bill my step-father is dying of uncurable untreatable rapidly spreading prostate cancer. Don't assume that I haven't experianced cancer close to me. Oh and my grandmother is a brease cancer "survivor"

¤ ¤ credit: Jake | 11.22.02 at 08:20 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

Then I am very, very confused. With a background like that, I don't understand how you can question any attention focused on these diseases. I don't care if it's stories in the mainstream news, ribbon of the week, commercials during the NASCAR race (yeah, I might be a redneck), or some people talking about it on a website (like us), I appreciate any and all attention given to these diseases. Attention translates into $$$ and money is always the first thing needed to find a cure.

I apologize for assuming anything about you, but you seriously came off as someone who didn't/doesn't appreciate the benefits derived from the attention given. You came into a forum, where people had done a lot of work to get some attention and raise money for a good cause, and questioned if the cause they chose was worthy of "all" the attention. I know you didn't say it wasn't worthy of "any" or "a lot" of attention, but you did offer theories as to why it gets as much attention as it does. You stepped on a lot of toes by doing that. You made some feel like thay had to justify why they were doing something nice. You should never have to justify being nice.

Personally, I don't care if they are raising money to help people with hangnails. There are people out there suffering from hangnails and if they want to help ease a little suffering, then I applaud them.

¤ ¤ credit: a different Bill | 11.23.02 at 09:56 AM | link--this ¤ ¤

Bill, I love you man.

¤ ¤ credit: robyn | 11.23.02 at 08:59 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

Jake, I DID lose my grandmother to breast cancer. She went through the hell of chemo and radiation and was "well" for about 6 years - that is if you call well being doped up 24/7 and basically turning into a different person. Then the cancer came back with a vengeance. She went through the chemo and radiation again with no response to the treatments. It was so painful to watch a healthy, loving, vital woman waste away to a bed-ridden, gasping wraith. Reading your comments only brings back the pain I felt at being able to do nothing but watch.

¤ ¤ credit: BillH | 02.20.03 at 11:52 PM | link--this ¤ ¤

Jake your lies are sickening!!! I don't buy not one fucking word you say and you need to hit the muthafuckin road dude!! You have serious issues and the day you start throwing up shit about stuff you absolutely have no clue about especially cancer then I will not hesitate to bust a cap in your ass!!! I AM a cancer survivor!! I am a woman who was 28 with a cancer so take your statistics and shove em babee. People like you who only live to talk shit make me sick and I pray I never run into you in person cause you will surely see the she devil.

Robyn you've known me long enough girl and you know I can only take so much of jerks like this especially on subjects close to me and you know when i get on these rants you are so more than welcome to delete me :)

I love ya

¤ ¤ credit: gnome-girl | 02.21.03 at 11:31 AM | link--this ¤ ¤