Occupy Pinktober!
Yes, in a few short weeks it will once again be Pinktober, the annual pink, fluffy feel-good fest that passes for breast cancer awareness during the month of October in the USA and online. There is no reason to expect that metastatic breast cancer will get any more attention that it usually does: practically none except for a nod to its existence on the 13th of the month.
This year I’d like to repeat the month of guest posts that was so successful last year.
Anyone who is
* living with metastatic breast cancer (an MBC patient),
* a family member or close friend of someone who is living with metastatic breast cancer,
* a caregiver or medical professional involved with metastatic breast cancer, or
* a person who lost a loved one to metastatic breast cancer
is invited to write a guest post. The topic is up to you, and so is the length. (My posts are usually around 500 words.) I’ll be happy to work with you to edit the post if you are unsure of yourself. You can choose your own image or I’ll choose one for you. The main idea is to let people with mets have a say and to let the world know that we are here and MBC is a serious disease.
I would like to be more organized than I was last year (not so hard – it was kind of a mess) so I am going to preschedule posts as early as possible. If you are interested, please just go ahead and write something and send it to me at knotellin11@gmail.com. If you have questions, please write to me at knotellin11@gmail.com and I’ll get back to you with in a day or two. Please put “Pinktober” in the subject line, so I don’t miss your message.
I’m looking forward to a full calendar of guest posts. Occupy Pinktober!
* Many thanks to the Kathi, the very talented Accidental Amazon, for permission to use her “Empty Promises” graphic in the blog. *
Hello I am Tatiana, live in Spain and have cancer of breast mets. They diagnosed me in February, 2013, I have spent 4 of AC for a chemotherapy, 8 taxol, radiotherapy and now I am with tamoxifeno, zoladex and denosumab because I have metastasis in the bones. They produced me of two vertebrae because the squashed tenia, now I am hoping that they produce me of the ovaries, they are going to take them from me as part of the treatment. I am every better day, do a normal life. Very much spirit and a lot of force for the whole world that lives with this disease, can be lived by her. Every little new treatments go out, the day will come that nobody dies of cancer of breast mets. We will be able to see it, it is necessary to have faith 🙂
Hi Tatiana, and welcome to Telling Knots! I have bone metastasis, too.
Would you like to write a guest post for me to put up in October?
Clear that yes! I would be charmed with it! Say me since I have to do it. If you want you can contact yourself with me in canazucar23@gmail.com Thank you! A greeting.
Hi Knot Telling,
I’m so glad last year’s call for entries was so successful. I agree that metastatic breast cancer gets swept under the carpet, and the pink party is insane. It’s awful how a perfectly good month — October — has to be dragged down by the incessant pink celebrations. There is nothing to celebrate in October except the beautiful landscape — at least in the Northern US.
Hear, hear!
I’m beginning to believe that carpet sweeping is pretty much the norm with awareness campaigns. I posted 2 of my children’s Ice Bucket Challenge on Facebook. I got a lot of likes and comments about it. I posted a beautiful testimony from a friend from high school who found out that he had ALS while recuperating from lymphoma treatment. Two other friends from high school liked the video. Nobody commented. It kind of made me sad. It says to me that a lot of people are afraid to have to watch someone die; most people really. It reminded me of the way that as long as breast cancer presents itself in pink tu-tus and boas it is fine to take to the streets to party. But nobody talks to the woman who is pale and bald.
Yes, indeed. These diseases are not warm and fuzzy.
Pinktober seems to be starting early this year. It is only August and I have already gotten a FB posting of “mammo-grahams” (graham crackers with ‘breast’ filling) and two of “free the tatas” which is of course on Metastatic Breast Cancer Day, Oct 13. Oh, and one really silly “awareness” game that has absolutely nothing to do with breast cancer or any other cancer, nor does it even raise any money like at least the ice buckets are supposed to do for ALS, but I am sure I will see it many more times in the next two months.
Yes, it’s ridiculous and I personally find it insulting.
I am thinking………. it won’t be a long post, but my family and I have been affected by MBC.
Thankfully pink has not hit us here (yet), but we did have “Daffodil Day” on Friday just past, with a nationwide street collection for cancer research, organised by the Cancer Society, a fund raising and support service of volunteers here in New Zealand.
Prayers, blessings and hugs
Maxine
Maxine, would you? I would love to have a guest post from you!
Hi Knot,
I love this idea. Looking forward to reading the guest posts you share. Thank you for sharing your space!
Thank you, Nancy.
I’d love to have lots of guest posts for the months, so please help by spreading the word!