Think Before You Pink: Guest Writer Caroline Johnson!

Hi guys! It’s Emma. This month is all about friendships and supporting each other. Mrs. Johnson offered to write her unique perspective on how to support other women. Mrs. Johnson is a breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed in 2013 and had surgery, received chemotherapy and had a total of 28 radiation treatments. After doing research and as a cancer survivor herself, she developed an organization called Twisted Pink to help raise money for cancer research. Here is why she invites you to “Think Before You Pink!”

by Caroline Johnson

We have been marching, walking and fundraising for a cure for over thirty years now.  40,000 women in the U.S. die of breast cancer every year and this has not changed in over thirty years.  What has changed is the pink ribbon and you should know a bit about this change and how it affects people with breast cancer.

Did you know that the first breast cancer awareness ribbon was created by a woman named Charlotte Haley?  The ribbon was originally a salmon color.  The Estee Lauder company approached Ms. Haley and told her that they loved her ribbon and wanted to make it a symbol of breast cancer.  Ms. Haley refused, saying that was about the company bottom line and she wanted her ribbon to be about awareness, not selling their product.  Estee Lauder changed the color of the ribbon to pink so that they could use the ribbon for their marketing campaigns.

We are approaching breast cancer awareness month and as every October approaches, I get a bit squeamish.  I was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer in June 2013.  I was 39 years old with no family history of breast cancer.  While going through treatment, which for me, consisted of surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, a clinical trial and now taking a medication to remove the estrogen from my body, I learned a great deal about breast cancer awareness and what it means to the general population vs. a cancer patient.

You can’t go anywhere during breast cancer awareness month without seeing something pink or a ribbon to represent awareness.  We light buildings pink, send cards with pink stamps, drive cars with pink license plates, eat bagels in the shape of ribbons, etc.…all for a CURE!  However, did you know that only 7% of the money going to research is directed to metastatic breast cancer research?

Meta-WHAT?  Meta-Sta-Tic.  This is stage IV breast cancer.  When breast cancer moves from the breast to another organ it is called metastatic breast cancer and there is no cure.  Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women 35-55 years of age.  155,000 people in the US are living with metastatic breast cancer and 40,000 will die this year.

As I sat in the chemotherapy chair and laid on the radiation table, I wondered if the bras that were being hung along the string on the perimeter of the shopping center near my home would have any impact on whether I would survive breast cancer.  My guess was, NO!  I began to question what we were doing with breast cancer awareness month.  Don’t we have a responsibility to change the way we approach being “aware” of a disease?  Why have a month of being aware when people are diagnosed and die every day?

I invite you to check out a 2012 film on You Tube called Pink Ribbons, Inc. or rent it here. It tells the story of Charlotte Haley and how corporate America has used the pink ribbon and the disease that affects 1 in 8 women to increase profits.  This October I urge you to Think Before You Pink!

Caroline Johnson is the Founder and Executive Director of Twisted Pink, a non-profit organization in Louisville, KY with a mission to extend lives and improve quality of life for metastatic breast cancer patients and their caregivers by funding MBC research.  Twisted Pink has donated $440,000 to research since June 2014.