The Big PINK Soap Box

Every now and then a moment, or a word, or a thought, will really resonate with you.  Such is the case with a blog post I read a while back.  Written by an amazing woman whose husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2010, this post is refreshing in its honesty, and so very applicable right now with Pancreatic Cancer on the rise and funding for a cure so far behind...

Thank you, Michelle for your permission to reprint.  You honor Craig's memory with such Grace and Beauty.  He would be so proud...

My big PINK soap box

   ~written by Michelle Merimee at www.merimeejourney.blogspot.com  Link here.

Disclaimer: this may be interpreted as one of those "politically incorrect" posts. Might want to just skip it.   (I have to insert my 2 cents. . .  You Don't Want To Skip It!  Jane)

I have thought about this post for many weeks now, I have debated whether or not to even mention the subject but time and time again this subject gets under my skin. This is not to take away from anyone's cancer battle. My mom has two dear friends that battled cancer. One does victory laps in her beautiful pool in her backyard and one does victory laps in heaven. Every cancer fighter deserves medals for their bravery.

It seems just taboo to even mention this...

Here's the thing. There are pink ribbons ON EVERYTHING. I have a bag of Sun chips that is pink in the pantry, Energizer batteries, if it stands still long enough in a store someone is going to stick a pink ribbon on it. Susan G. Komen has mastered the way to market a disease. Susan died in the late 70s and her sister was in marketing and made it her pledge to help fund breast cancer so that they could find a cure. And man did she do it!! Don't get me wrong, thank goodness she did. They have found ways to treat breast cancer and more importantly they have promoted preventing it. BUT breast cancer isn't the only cancer that is out there. If pancreatic cancer received a 10th of the funding that breast cancer did they may have better answers for us.

This hasn't just been on my mind since Craig was diagnosed, it was just a smaller soap box at the time. I worked with a local hospital several years back on the marketing of their new heart health unit. Did you know that heart disease is the number one killer of women, not breast cancer? If you want to support women's health throw your money on educating women how they can keep their hearts healthy. That is much easier to solve than a disease that comes out of no where at times.

When Craig was first diagnosed I found a website that said that pancreatic cancer was so underfunded for several reasons. One of the main ones was the fact that it was so hard to prevent since the pancreas is hidden behind a couple organs. The symptoms are not alarming until they persist or jaundice surfaces and then it is normally in late stages. The other reason is there are not "spokespeople" out there to help move the research along. With the odds that go along with the disease there isn't much of a "team" to join. There are two walks in Louisville alone that support breast cancer. There isn't one to support any GI cancers with in 100 miles.

Last night I was reading an article on treatment that is being worked on in Cincinnati. A drug that was discovered in 2002. 2002! The researchers are hoping it gets to a phase I clinical trial by mid-next year. The funding to push these things through just isn't there.

Don't get me wrong, Save the Ta-tas, Fight Like a Girl, wear your pink and wear it proud. BUT don't do it at the sacrifice of the pancreas, the colon, the liver, hundreds of pediatric cancer, lung cancer, brain cancer etc etc. We may not have the cute slogans but we have family members suffering. And suffering with little medical hope.

I have posted a link from Good Morning America a couple weeks ago.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/patrick-swayzes-widow-lisa-niemi-swayze-fights-pancr...

Patrick Swayze died of pancreatic cancer after battling 22 months. His wife was interviewed by Robin Roberts who is a breast cancer survivor. The interview highlights my point much better than I am doing in this post. Pancreatic cancer is where breast cancer was 20 years ago and it needs help. It needs marketing, it needs walks, it needs funding, it needs corporations to get behind it like breast cancer!

One day in the oncologist office it was pink out day. I asked one of the nurse when purple out day was. She didn't even realize that was the color for Pancreatic cancer, as she was treating my husband for the disease! Most people don't even know the color for pancreatic cancer but they know about the pink.

Again I am not dogging breast cancer fighters we just need to spread the love so that other cancer can share in the success.

Signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer:

• Upper abdominal pain that may radiate to your back
• Yellowing of your skin and the whites of your eyes (jaundice)
• Loss of appetite
• Weight loss
• Depression
• Blood clots

After I explained myself to the RN at the office she said "well it sounds like a good job for you."

Well I do look good in purple....


Michelle has tackled a sensitive topic with eloquence and grace.  Pancreatic Cancer is robbing families of their loved ones with a methodical intensity that has changed little in the last 4 decades.

And I constantly ask, How can that be?

We can send a rover to Mars, we can create micro-computer chips smaller than our thumbprint that hold volumes of information, we can get inside a tornado and collect data.  The world is full of brilliant minds...and Cancer sufferers.  Let's bring them together and find the Cure, once and for all.  How Brilliant would that be?!!

Thank you Michelle for bringing the spotlight to bear on the task at hand...

I think we all would look good in purple! 

Trusting in Grace to Lead the Way,  Always, Jane