The LiveStrong bracelet is to show support for people living with and fighting cancer. Some people may wear it because it is trendy or because Lance Armstrong wears one (he is the founder of the organization after all). Most people wear it to show their support for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. I asked myself, for whom do I wear this yellow band.
I wear it for a life long friend of mine who died of placental cancer (choriocarcinoma) last summer at age 27. I wear it for my aunt who died of lymphoma and breast cancer when I was 9. I wear it for my mom’s best friend who is a breast cancer survivor. I wear it for my best friend who beat cervical cancer (caught it very early). I wear it for the people I do not know who are fighting cancer or who have lost their battle with it.
I wear a pink “Sharing the Promise” bracelet (made the same way as the LiveStrong, though I’ve misplaced my LiveStrong bracelet somewhere in this last apartment move…booo) for my grandmother who lived with breast cancer for over 15 years and eventually died from a brain tumor in '92 as well as for all of the women whom I hope never have to endure what she went through.
I only wish I could stop holding my cigarettes with that hand. Ugh.
I first purchased mine for my mother to wear. She had colon cancer ten years ago, they had to remove half her intestines. She couldn’t wear it, it was too tight, so I ended up wearing it as a reminder to me. I was going through a nasty time this summer and that strip of cheery yellow helped me get through it.
I actually wear it for myself, a reminder to eat well and take care of myself. It’s pretty good motivation during a workout or allowing me to push away from the table.
You know these are manufactured by Nike, right? Doesn’t Nike still run sweatshops? Does this not make any difference to your buying into this campaign?
I feel sick. Please, if anyone can assure me that there’s no connection between the Nike who do livestrong and the Nike who exploit child labour, I’ll be happy to hear it.
For my dad, who died of lymphoma in August. It made me feel a little better while he was fighting it. It makes me feel a little better now, too. I think of him whenever I see one. It gives me hope that better cancer treatments will be found.
And for Lance Armstrong himself, for beating the odds in the most astounding way, and turning that into a foundation to help others.
It’s the same Nike. This is also the same Nike that stood by Lance Armstrong when he had cancer and paid his contract even though they could have gotten out of it. The same Nike that when other sponsors bailed on him, they hung in (along with Oakley).
The same Nike that donates $1.00 to the Lance Armstrong Foundation for every $1.00 yellow bracelet sold. So in other words, the evil overlord Nike is picking up the entire cost of making and formerly the distribution costs (I bought mine at a Nike store, don’t know if you can still get one there). So basically they are losing money on every one they sell. If you hate Nike that much maybe you should buy so many that Nike goes bankrupt.
Me I don’t have a problem with it. YMMV
'Course you don’t get a bracelet but you could think of that as a gift to the ten-year-olds who make the sneakers. Or maybe don’t think about it at all, maybe that’ll make it go away.
Look, I’m sorry, I didn’t want to mess up a perfectly nice thread. I was just quite shocked, is all. As you might have guessed I will not be wearing a band, but I will be not wearing it in memory of my dad. Lung cancer, 48 years old.
Look, I’m sorry, I didn’t want to mess up a perfectly nice thread. I was just quite shocked, is all. As you might have guessed I will not be wearing a band, but I will be not wearing it in memory of my dad. Lung cancer, 48 years old. I think he’d have preferred it this way.
