Tired of all the damn PINK everywhere in the NFL

[BPS3akaWirels3]

Possibly TMI:

I found a rather large lump under my right arm at the end of last month. I went to the doctor, who thought it was probably nothing (come to think of it, it would have been farily unprofessional for him to be visibly alarmed, so I guess that shouldn't be a surprise. *g*). Anyway, he referred me to the hospital for a mammogram just to be sure - I have never had one, so I guess I was due regardless. I have no insurance, so I was sent to a clinic where they gave me a full gyno exam and a voucher for a mammogram and an ultrasound free of charge, courtesy of the Susan G. Komen foundation. They offered other exams and tests in addition to the gyno business, and I assume they would have helped some if the tests turned out positive. Fortunately everything is okay and it was only a cyst (and I would have found a way to pay for the mammo if necessary) but I for one am very grateful that foundations such as SGK's exist.

Yeah.. Gald to hear your ok... Was a little worried while reading this..

[Vis]

I don't mind the pink. I don't worry that it's all about money - it needs to be. Yes there are other diseases but don't blame the breast cancer groups for being better at public relations than groups supporting other issues. Everyone focuses on the ones that hit closest to home. For me it's CKD. I don't think we have a color.

[LLT]

I can honestly say that at no point during the game yesterday did I ever feel "distracted" by anything that was pink.

[cakmakli]

If you are defecating pink fecal matter then you may need to see a doctor.

^ That was funny.

I'm sick of seeing the pink gloves, towels, shoes, etc. Keep it off the uniforms. Looks retarded.

If you want awareness then buy a commercial like everyone else.

[stlrtruck]

^ That was funny.

I'm sick of seeing the pink gloves, towels, shoes, etc. Keep it off the uniforms. Looks retarded.

If you want awareness then buy a commercial like everyone else.

I'm not sure this is so much the foundation as it is the NFL Executives finding a cause, thus more reason to 'raise' money for the foundation. But as has been speculated over the weekend, how much of the money is going to the foundation?

[LLT]

I'm not sure this is so much the foundation as it is the NFL Executives finding a cause,

I think you are correct. Goodell is all about "image"...and I am sure that plays a huge part in this. That being said...I'm all about saving the TaTa's. Always been a big fan myself.

[Wallace108]

You should have followed your advice, now you have shown yourself to be ill informed. The person who cures cancer will be richer than you can ever imagine, but he or she will'nt do it for money.

I've never taken a cheap shot at a fellow member, but I will now. Hey, NCSteeler, come down off your high horse and let's count together ... .
Attack the argument, not the poster, bro.

[BPS3akaWirels3]

I've never taken a cheap shot at a fellow member, but I will now. Hey, NCSteeler ... .
Attack the argument, not the poster, bro.

Let it go bro.. I already sent him a PM. We all have something that means a lot to us and will always take it personal. He probably has a good reason. Let it slide...


Now back to sports minded issues..

[Wallace108]

Let it go bro.. I already sent him a PM. We all have something that means a lot to us and will always take it personal. He probably has a good reason. Let it slide...

Point well-taken, BPS.
I've also lost family members to cancer. Not breast cancer, but when you lose a loved one, does it really matter WHAT kind of cancer it was?

So I assure you, it's a personal issue with me as well. But that doesn't mean I'm going to demean someone who might have a different opinion.
His comment toward me was inappropriate, as was this one:

SUCK IT VTsteel!

But yeah, I'll let it slide this time.

[BPS3akaWirels3]

Point well-taken, BPS.
I've also lost family members to cancer. Not breast cancer, but when you lose a loved one, does it really matter WHAT kind of cancer it was?

So I assure you, it's a personal issue with me as well. But that doesn't mean I'm going to demean someone who might have a different opinion.
His comment toward me was inappropriate, as was this one:



But yeah, I'll let it slide this time.

Thanks buddy... You all know that the cancer issue is a TUFF one for me to. That reminds me to update my thread on my awesome dad.

[LLT]

Appreciate how everyone involved in this very personal topic managed to get it back on track. Remember...the topic is personal...but the response/attacks cant be.

[cakmakli]

The cause is very important. I have a Mother, Wife, Daughter, Aunts, etc. and I don't want anything to happen to them.

I just think that the NFL could bring more of an awareness and inform the public more if they did a commercial or something (like the Mormons are doing). I just don't like to see them using the uniform is such a manner to do it (blame on the years that I spent in the Army correcting uniform violations).

[stlrtruck]

The cause is very important. I have a Mother, Wife, Daughter, Aunts, etc. and I don't want anything to happen to them.

I just think that the NFL could bring more of an awareness and inform the public more if they did a commercial or something (like the Mormons are doing). I just don't like to see them using the uniform is such a manner to do it (blame on the years that I spent in the Army correcting uniform violations).

Well they do supposedly auction off those uniforms and the revenue generated is suppose to go the foundation.

But I agree with you. I think the NFL uses the foundation as a means to stand itself up. I, too, believe that the NFL could take a different approach and have a much better outcome.

[VTsteel]

SUCK IT VTsteel!

Whoa - Easy Killer,

I am not saying Awareness and charity are a bad thing . . . Simply that seeing PINK everywhere is too much (for me).

I've lost loved ones to cancer as well and had a friend who had a mastectomy - So, I'm not oblivious to your (and many others) pain.

Simply saying that I would prefer to see team colors and no more PINK.

To further that point I would estimate that the NFL is using the whole PINK thing to upgrade it's own image and I'd rather not see it.

[NCSteeler]

Whoa - Easy Killer,

I am not saying Awareness and charity are a bad thing . . . Simply that seeing PINK everywhere is too much (for me).

I've lost loved ones to cancer as well and had a friend who had a mastectomy - So, I'm not oblivious to your (and many others) pain.

Simply saying that I would prefer to see team colors and no more PINK.

To further that point I would estimate that the NFL is using the whole PINK thing to upgrade it's own image and I'd rather not see it.

Sorry VT.

The NFL is definitely using this issue to get to the female viewing demographic, but if it raises a few more dollars, I'm on board.

[Wallace108]

but if it raises a few more dollars, I'm on board.

How many more dollars need to be raised?

Susan G. Komen for the Cure, formerly known as The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, often referred to as simply Komen, is an organization supporting breast cancer research. Since its inception in 1982, Komen has invested over $1.5 billion for research, education and health services, making it the largest breast cancer charity in the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_G...n_for_the_Cure

That's $1.5 billion raised by just one group.
Yet despite all that money ...

Despite the billions of dollars spent on breast cancer research, incidence rates have been climbing steadily in industrialised countries since the 1940s. ...
the numbers of women being diagnosed annually worldwide has almost doubled since 1975.
http://www.chemicalshealthmonitor.or....php?rubrique6

This is the point I was trying to make. Wearing pink and throwing millions (or billions) of dollars at the problem is not the solution. Here's a really good story from a female perspective:

October. Another breast cancer awareness month with buildings and bridges aglow in pink. One year since the last one. And around the world another 500,000 women dead of breast cancer. Almost 40,000 in this country alone. Actually, this is the 25th breast cancer awareness month. We are being asked to celebrate that fact - which is symptomatic of the problem. Why do we try so hard to make breast cancer palatable, comfortable, pink? I really don't feel like celebrating.

Twenty five years ago, in the United States, 110 women died of breast cancer every day. Twenty five years and billions of private and public research dollars later, that number is 110. Every day. Not much progress, is it?

What have we been talking about since the last awareness month? We spent weeks and months arguing over whether to screen women once a year or once every other year. The public and media were up in arms because a group of objective experts questioned the benefit and frequency of mammography screening. Should we let women decide what to do? Or should we just tell them? We argued over whether a new drug that shrank a tumor for several weeks but didn't make women live longer, or improve their quality of life -- and had life threatening side effects -- was good enough. Such low expectations. We deserve more.

I don't feel very pink about any of this. I feel angry. I am frustrated at the lack of progress. And I feel used. I have helped convince the government to give billions of dollars in research funding to the worldwide scientific community. I have seen others push to spend billions more in mammograms and billions in awareness campaigns. I have lost count of pink light bulbs. But I haven't lost count of the too many women who have died.

When will we call for an end to this madness? When will we get serious about ending breast cancer?
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/fran-v..._b_749128.html

I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot, NCSteeler. This is a touchy subject. But it should be one we can discuss respectfully and without attacking each other. Because in the end, we share the same goal if not the same belief in how to achieve it.

[NCSteeler]

How many more dollars need to be raised?



That's $1.5 billion raised by just one group.
Yet despite all that money ...



This is the point I was trying to make. Wearing pink and throwing millions (or billions) of dollars at the problem is not the solution. Here's a really good story from a female perspective:



I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot, NCSteeler. This is a touchy subject. But it should be one we can discuss respectfully and without attacking each other. Because in the end, we share the same goal if not the same belief in how to achieve it.

So your saying we should quit raising money because it's not working?

[stlrtruck]

So your saying we should quit raising money because it's not working?

No, I'm saying they should change the direction of what they're working on. Think outside the box, I believe that cancer is a disease that can not be viewed in the same way a typical illness is researched. I get the feeling that those doing the research are viewing this as if it were the flu.

[LLT]

I can honestly say that at no point during the game yesterday did I ever feel "distracted" by anything that was pink.

It has been brought to my attention that this post sounds dirty.


For the record....since it was brought up....YES...I could be distracted.

[BPS3akaWirels3]

So your saying we should quit raising money because it's not working?

How about something that focuses more around children and sports. I like the 60 minutes of play everyday..

[Wallace108]

So your saying we should quit raising money because it's not working?

Seriously? I don't know WHAT the answer is. All I know is that what we've been doing for the past 5 or 6 decades isn't working. When you throw billions of dollars at a problem and don't get anywhere near a solution, then something is wrong.

Wearing pink might make people feel better about themselves, but it's not going to do anything to bring us closer to a cure. If it's just to raise awareness ... I think most people are aware. It's not like breast cancer is some obscure disease no one has heard of.

I know I'm going to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but cancer research is a BIG business. A lot of people are making a lot of money ... not only in "looking" for a cure, but in treating the disease. And one thing I've learned in life, is that when money is involved, people tend to lose their moral compass.

So do I think we should stop raising money for research? Honestly, I think the reward concept might be a better idea. But if I had the answer, I'd be out cashing my check right now instead of talking about it on the Internet. All I'm saying is that if a method isn't working, then you need to come up with a new method.

[silver & black]

[QUOTE]

Seriously? I don't know WHAT the answer is. All I know is that what we've been doing for the past 5 or 6 decades isn't working. When you throw billions of dollars at a problem and don't get anywhere near a solution, then something is wrong.

I know I'm going to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but cancer research is a BIG business. A lot of people are making a lot of money ... not only in "looking" for a cure, but in treating the disease. And one thing I've learned in life, is that when money is involved, people tend to lose their moral compass.

So do I think we should stop raising money for research? Honestly, I think the reward concept might be a better idea. But if I had the answer, I'd be out cashing my check right now instead of talking about it on the Internet. All I'm saying is that if a method isn't working, then you need to come up with a new method.[/QUO

I have to agree with you. I've lost three people in my family to cancer, so I'm not just someone with no stake in this, blowing smoke.

There is too much money to be made from cancer drugs, treatments and centers. As callous as it sounds, I don't really think it is financially feasable to "cure" cancer. There is just too much revenue to be lost in doing so. Look how much money is generated from the common cold. Are you telling me that there is really no cure for something as simple as that? Of course there is. It just isn't financially feasable to do so.

No amount of money dumped into "research for cancer cure" has done any good. Yeah, there are "breakthroughs" in new cancer drugs once in a while, but who does that bennefit?... the pharmaceutical companies, that's who.

Maybe I'm just cynical (I am) but I think the whole "raise money for a cure" thing is a big scam that is played upon caring people to separate them from their money. Having said that, I'm all for finding a cure for ALL diseases that people suffer from, but I don't like being played. With the amount of money that has been raised thus far for "research" and the amount of time that this has been going on, I would surely think that a cure should have been found by now. Just my .02 worth... as usleless as it is.

[Wallace108]

Are you telling me that there is really no cure for something as simple as that? Of course there is. It just isn't financially feasable to do so.

Yeah, there are "breakthroughs" in new cancer drugs once in a while, but who does that bennefit?... the pharmaceutical companies, that's who.

That's exactly what I'm getting at, s&b.
Take AIDS for instance. Back in the 80s, if you contracted AIDS, it was a death sentence. But they developed drug cocktails that can keep you living a long, "normal" life.

If they had developed a cure for AIDS, they'd get a few hundred dollars out of you with the cost of the shot, pill, or whatever. But think of the hundreds of thousands of dollars they're going to get out of you over the next 10, 20, 30, 40 years as you take your daily dose of drugs to "treat" the disease.

I find it suspicious that they know enough about these diseases to effectively treat them, but not enough to cure them.

There's absolutely no incentive in finding a cure. And that's where my cynicism kicks in.

[O'Malley]

The way the league is going every team will be in pink pretty soon.

[NCSteeler]

Komen has only been raising money since 1982, so it's just under thirty years of fund raising. A lot of what they do and fund effects all cancer research. And just for the record alot of different types of cancers have been "cured" or have come to the point where they have survival rates in 90th percentile. If you feel it's not worthy please don't give your money or your time, but don't discourage others.

How would you suggest we find a cure. We can't trust drug companies, we can't trust doctors. Hell everyone is just trying to get rich and rip us off. A huge reward to someone that comes up with a cure.....sounds like that might take a little fund raising, sorry we can't do that pink offends us and we can't trust the people raising the funds.

this si the system we have to work with until you can come up with a better more trust worthy system.

[silver & black]

Komen has only been raising money since 1982, so it's just under thirty years of fund raising. A lot of what they do and fund effects all cancer research. And just for the record alot of different types of cancers have been "cured" or have come to the point where they have survival rates in 90th percentile. If you feel it's not worthy please don't give your money or your time, but don't discourage others.

How would you suggest we find a cure. We can't trust drug companies, we can't trust doctors. Hell everyone is just trying to get rich and rip us off. A huge reward to someone that comes up with a cure.....sounds like that might take a little fund raising, sorry we can't do that pink offends us and we can't trust the people raising the funds.

this si the system we have to work with until you can come up with a better more trust worthy system.

I understand what you're saying, and I don't disagree with it. The whole thing is a giant catch 22. Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

I know that at the heart of this, there are good intentions and good people that care. I also know (ok... highly suspect) that there are extremely corrupt factions within these fund raising organizations. The drug companies make a killing (no pun intended) off of cancer. I have to believe that they have their hooks burried deep in these fund raising organizations... just like organized crime has people burried into every facet of government. I don't have an answer for that.

As far as the pink thing goes; it isn't that anyone is offended by it, it's just played out. It's so prolific now, that it basically has lost it's teeth, so to speak. Everyone knows what it stands for, but it's kind of just taken in passing. Again, this is just my .02 on it.

this si the system we have to work with until you can come up with a better more trust worthy system.[/QUOTE]

[Wallace108]

How would you suggest we find a cure. We can't trust drug companies, we can't trust doctors. Hell everyone is just trying to get rich and rip us off.

I don't understand why we find it so easy to distrust Big Oil, Wall Street, or any other big-money industry, yet we find it so hard to distrust the pharmaceutical industry. We like to think that the drug industry is purely altruistic and has our best interests in mind.

But if that's the case, then why have they fought so hard to block Americans from buying cheaper drugs from Canada? Could it be that they were trying to protect their bottom line? If they were putting our health above their profits, wouldn't they want us to get more affordable prescriptions? Especially older and poorer Americans who can't afford to pay for their prescriptions?

Sorry, but I don't think it's a stretch to suggest that our health takes a back seat to Big Drug's profits. And how many diseases have been cured? They're not in the business of curing diseases. Curing diseases isn't good for their bottom line. But treating diseases ... now that 's where the money is at. The longer they can keep you alive and buying their drugs, the more money they make.

[NCSteeler]

I don't understand why we find it so easy to distrust Big Oil, Wall Street, or any other big-money industry, yet we find it so hard to distrust the pharmaceutical industry. We like to think that the drug industry is purely altruistic and has our best interests in mind.

But if that's the case, then why have they fought so hard to block Americans from buying cheaper drugs from Canada? Could it be that they were trying to protect their bottom line? If they were putting our health above their profits, wouldn't they want us to get more affordable prescriptions? Especially older and poorer Americans who can't afford to pay for their prescriptions?

Sorry, but I don't think it's a stretch to suggest that our health takes a back seat to Big Drug's profits. And how many diseases have been cured? They're not in the business of curing diseases. Curing diseases isn't good for their bottom line. But treating diseases ... now that 's where the money is at. The longer they can keep you alive and buying their drugs, the more money they make.

ALL major pharmaceutical companies offer discount and free drug programs for those that can't afford the drugs. Ask your doctor about it .Most offices offer a nurse or clerical person that is well versed in who to call and what forms to fill out. I fully trust that every large corporation is worried about two things, bottom line and public image.

But the drug companies aren't the ones doing most of the medical research. A lot of the research has nothing to do with finding a drug to do something, it is more about understanding the different forms of the cancer to a point where they can determine what could be done, drug or otherwise.

[Delraich]

Why not just play with a pink football for the month? I think that would look pimpin nothing on the uniforms or field. But yeah how much awareness do we need? I would bet if I went to every house in this hillbilly backasswards town I live in that I couldn't find a single person over 12 who wasn't aware of breast cancer.

I'd also like to offer my expertise in prevention. If any woman on this board would like me to "examine" there breasts I'd be more then happy to....

[GodfatherofSoul]

One weekend would be a good idea, a whole month is pretty annoying. No offense to people affected by breast cancer. What next? Yellow month for testicular cancer, blue for autism, ... you can see how far this can go.