# Why is breast cancer more "famous" than other cancers? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 23, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-breast-cancer-more-famous-than-other-cancers/537136 "2010-04-23T18:58:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-breast-cancer-more-famous-than-other-cancers/537136/41 "2010-04-25T03:02:58Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Well, glad we solved that. I’ll go ahead and let the folks who run this board know that they can go ahead and shut the site down. We’re all in the wrong place. > > Stupid comment aside, it would be best not to act like you have any idea what I do with my spare time. So, then what is your issue? Yes, breast cancer gets a lot of funding. I wasn’t aware you were just whining about it, I thought that perhaps you thought the inequality was some sort of problem that should be solved. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-breast-cancer-more-famous-than-other-cancers/537136/42 "2010-04-25T03:07:40Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > So, then what is your issue? Yes, breast cancer gets a lot of funding. I wasn’t aware you were just whining about it, I thought that perhaps you thought the inequality was some sort of problem that should be solved. I’m sorry, but what in the hell are you talking about? Are you suggesting that anyone who posts on the dope doesn’t care about solving problems? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-breast-cancer-more-famous-than-other-cancers/537136/43 "2010-04-25T03:23:54Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > I also dragonboat; hard not to be aware of breast cancer when every other team is a survivor’s team. They kick butt and are generally awesome women, but at the same time, no, for the 878438927th time, I don’t want to buy a can of Coke for 2$ to support breast cancer awareness, and no, that doesn’t make me a bad person! I just brought my own Coke…! Mnemosyne, if you find yourself racing in Thunder Bay, pop on by our [tent](http://my.tbaytel.net/dragonsofhope/) where you can have all the food and drink you want. And we won’t charge you a penny. As far as the OP’s query goes, I think it comes down to a combination of a broad (snerk) base of people who are directly or indirectly affected by breast cancer and who therefore might want to get involved; a high survival rate leading to a significant number of survivors who can then get involved; a recovery that tends to be complete rather than leaving a person debilitated for a very long time and unable to get involved; and strong organizational ability by women who are already active in community networks and find it quite easy to get involved. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-breast-cancer-more-famous-than-other-cancers/537136/44 "2010-04-25T04:29:14Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > I’m sorry, but what in the hell are you talking about? Are you suggesting that anyone who posts on the dope doesn’t care about solving problems? No, I’m suggesting that on this issue you apparently just want to whine about it. Maybe you don’t. In which case, do something. Or don’t. No skin off my back either way. But the reason breast cancer gets so much funding is because there is are a ton of people writing letters, marching, and being very visible. People are not marching for prostate cancer. They aren’t writing their congressman demanding more funding. They aren’t spending millions (probably billions) buying stupid shit where a small portion of the profits goes to research. Or putting stupid ribbons on their cars. Or, at least, they aren’t doing this things in populations big enough to matter. And that is what needs to change if you want equality in cancer research funding. Someone upthread mentioned AIDS, which is another place we dumped a ton of funding in the late 1980 and 1990s due to activism. Far more than we would have for some disease that was killing gay men and drug addicts without the activism. That activism, and the funding that was related to it, has largely died off - in part because AIDS is now seen as “treatable” - in part because the gains in research haven’t been huge (where there have continued to be breakthroughs in breast cancer diagnoses and treatment that have kept that community going) but it was successful. Far more successful than a lot of people believed it could be given that it disproportionally affected gay men and IV drug users. Although it seems that a lot of breast cancer experts are backing off on the idea of medical breakthroughs. Prevention - lowering risk - is the name of the breast cancer awareness game right now. Not new treatments, not “finding a cure.” We’ve even backed off on the idea of yearly mammograms. Lower obesity rates, lower alcohol consumption rates, get exercise, and we can lower breast cancer rates. And that’s awareness, not research funding. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-breast-cancer-more-famous-than-other-cancers/537136/45 "2010-04-25T11:47:07Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > No, I’m suggesting that on this issue you apparently just want to whine about it. A moronic assumption based on zero evidence. The fact that I am discussing an issue online does not mean I only want to whine about it. > [@](#): > > But the reason breast cancer gets so much funding is because there is are a ton of people writing letters, marching, and being very visible. People are not marching for prostate cancer. They aren’t writing their congressman demanding more funding. They aren’t spending millions (probably billions) buying stupid shit where a small portion of the profits goes to research. Or putting stupid ribbons on their cars. Or, at least, they aren’t doing this things in populations big enough to matter. And that is what needs to change if you want equality in cancer research funding. You seem awfully sure of yourself. Since you have it all figured out, perhaps you could explain why the difference in funding was even more out of whack back before people started marching for breast cancer, putting ribbons on their cars, and buying pink boxes of Cheerios. Also, since people aren’t marching for Prostate Cancer, and that is why it doesn’t get as much funding, perhaps you could explain why is gets a disproportionate amount of funding when compared to several other types of cancer? Maybe visibility isn’t the only thing at play here. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-breast-cancer-more-famous-than-other-cancers/537136/46 "2010-04-25T16:20:50Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > A moronic assumption based on zero evidence. The fact that I am discussing an issue online does not mean I only want to whine about it. > > You seem awfully sure of yourself. Since you have it all figured out, perhaps you could explain why the difference in funding was even more out of whack back before people started marching for breast cancer, putting ribbons on their cars, and buying pink boxes of Cheerios. > > Also, since people aren’t marching for Prostate Cancer, and that is why it doesn’t get as much funding, perhaps you could explain why is gets a disproportionate amount of funding when compared to several other types of cancer? Maybe visibility isn’t the only thing at play here. No it isn’t, but it is one factor, and a big one. And its the one people gripe about - and are griping about in this thread. That breast cancer gets all the PR - but they get all the PR because breast cancer activist really work the PR. One other factor in research funding is bang for the buck. Some cancers are so aggressive that they are hard nuts to crack. Its “better” to improve the survival rate for “easy” to “cure” cancers. Prostate is apparently one of them, as are several forms of breast (although not all, some breast cancers are aggressive - which may be another factor). Lung tends to be one of the hard ones. Blood cancers are really hard. Another factor is age at which they strike. Cancers that disproportionally target younger people tend to see more funding. Also how much lifestyle has to do with getting cancer. Lung has always been a hard sell because if you ignore the smokers in the population, its a much rarer cancer. Many lung cancer victims “gave it to themselves.” Lung also had its day of popularity and has been decreasing as a cause du jour (I used to work for the American Lung Society - 25 years ago), where breast cancer is probably right now at the peak of its popularity as a cause. But what is happening right now with breast cancer - the new emphasis on lowering risk - is what happened to lung cancer 40 years ago - and one of the reasons that support for lung cancer research went down - because we started throwing money at prevention. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-breast-cancer-more-famous-than-other-cancers/537136/47 "2010-04-25T17:46:44Z")
The AIDS ability to gather resources and attention was not missed. Other ailments have copied the pattern . Using celebrities, getting lots of sympathetic type victims and organizing community action works quite well. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-breast-cancer-more-famous-than-other-cancers/537136/48 "2010-04-25T21:52:14Z")
My WAG: because it far too often kills young, still attractive, women and most cancers, in particular prostate cancer, kills old farts like me. I don’t see why you have to look for things like, “Well nobody cares when men die” when that explanation is available. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-breast-cancer-more-famous-than-other-cancers/537136/49 "2010-04-26T01:07:54Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > There are “colors” for[most malignancies](http://www.choosehope.com/category/by-cancer-color-cancer-type). (In fact, many colors can stand for several diseases or other causes; that’s the simplest list I could find.) > > (snip) > > If you choose to remain ignorant & passive, don’t blame the ladies in the pink t-shirts. There are some women (and men) out there who are quite bothered by the whole “pinkwashing” movement. I know that it’s always bugged me in some way but I could never quite put my finger on why. I didn’t think too deeply about the “why” mostly because it’s too burdensome in non-critical-thinking America to disparage in any way something that, to Joe Six-Pack (Special Pink Can Edition! \*Won’t You Please Help?\*®) is nothing but sweetness, light, and angel kisses. It’s hard enough taking a stand against organized religion or the Tea-Bagging, tunnel-visioned, “America: Love It Or Leave It (To Beaver)!” crowd… I haven’t felt like scraping my nails down \*this \*blackboard as well! Fortunately for me, other people have managed to articulate \*their \*concerns with this “pinkwashing” quite nicely. Kim Zielinski, a person with breast cancer had this to say in a [Boston Globe article](http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2009/10/04/sick_of_pink/): > [@](#): > > “I think that the pink ribbon, as a symbol, tends to pretty up what is a pretty crappy disease. But a pink ribbon is easier to look at than the disease itself.” > > Many breast cancer survivors like Zielinski find themselves conflicted over this little powerful ribbon. Some survivors feel companies are exploiting breast cancer, marketing themselves as philanthropic outfits that care about women when what they mostly care about is the pink ribbon’s enormous ability to boost profits. Some just feel overwhelmed by the constant pink reminder, especially in October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, of a disease that has forever altered their lives. [Breast Cancer Action](http://bcaction.org/index.php?page=home), an advocacy group has a “[Think Before You Pink](http://thinkbeforeyoupink.org/)” campaign that comes down against most of the corporate “pinkwashing” as a cynical marketing ploy: > [@](#): > > Fast Food for the Cure? > > With their new “Buckets for the Cure” campaign, KFC and Susan G. Komen for the Cure are telling us to buy unhealthy food to cure a disease that kills women. It’s preposterous, and we have to tell them to stop. > > Make no mistake–every pink bucket purchase will do more to benefit KFC’s bottom line than it will to cure breast cancer. Tell KFC and Susan G. Komen for the Cure to rethink this pinkwashing partnership. Barbara Brenner from Breast Cancer Action: > [@](#): > > it seems that every year there is more marketing. I am not sure how long this can go on. I think there is a contrast. It is interesting. As the critique emerges there are more people understanding the critique and asking questions from a consumer side. I think the companies don’t get it yet. That is a bigger problem. (The above quote is from someone’s [Facebook copy of the original interview](http://ja-jp.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=97314349945) on [NaturalNews.com](http://NaturalNews.com). I used this link because you had to register to read the original interview in its entirety.) [Barbara Ehrenreich](http://ehrenreich.blogs.com/barbaras_blog/2009/12/not-so-pretty-in-pink.html), a noted feminist author, in [a 2001 speech](http://www.annieappleseedproject.org/barehar.html)asked: > [@](#): > > How to define breast cancer culture? > > It’s very pink and femme and frilly – all about pink ribbons, pink rhinestone pins, pink t-shirts and of course a lot about cosmetics. The American Cancer Society offers a program called “Look Good…Feel Better” which gives out free cosmetics to women undergoing breast cancer treatment. The Libby Ross Foundation gives breast cancer patients a free tote bag containing Estee Lauder body crème, a pink satin pillowcase, a set of Japanese cosmetics, and 2 rhinestone bracelets. And no one, so far as I could determine, was complaining about the strange idea that you can fight a potentially fatal disease with eyeliner and blush. ---
**Author:** ![will2010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbce88/32.png) [@will2010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/will2010)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-breast-cancer-more-famous-than-other-cancers/537136/50 "2010-05-27T06:57:23Z")
I think because it is more common and affect badly women and they die or lose a beautiful part of them. So most fundraising campaign held their festival to support those strong women. [Race For the Cure](http://www.fundraisingforacause.com/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-breast-cancer-more-famous-than-other-cancers/537136.md?page=2)