I don’t know how many of you are women’s basketball fans, but just in case you missed last weekend’s action, most of the top-ranked college teams played their games bedecked from head to toe in pink uniforms, compliments of Nike. The Think Pink initiative is a global, unified effort of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) to raise breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. More than 800 universities participated in some capacity in the event which happened to coincide with ESPN’s ‘February Frenzy’ of games. Fans of the game were encouraged to don pink in support of the cause.
Now, I don’t know if you’ve seen a typical women’s basketball fan, but I can assure you that pink is not her favorite color. However, like the rest of us, she’s always willing to do her part in the fight against breast cancer.
During last week’s action, in addition to the play-by-play reminder of breast cancer, fans were repeatedly encouraged to give generously to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. We were told that we must band together to stop this ruthless killer of women. Yes, we surely surely must.
My question is why didn’t Nike just write a big check to the fund and be done with it? We could’ve actually WATCHED the Rutgers-Tennessee game, a rematch of last year’s NCAA final; the fund would have its money; more “research” could be done; big Pharma and their minion-surgeons could have their pin money; big food could keep fucking with the food supply so that these fundraisers will always be necessary. And Nike will be at the ready to supply gear for each of them, swoosh color negotiable.
Even more importantly, more women would be convinced to cough up money for an annual mammogram, more biopsies of benign tissue would be done and, in the process, even more of them would get cancer from the large, very unnatural and unhealthy, doses of radiation they regularly receive. I mean, let’s forget that one of the world’s foremost authorities on radiation, John W. Gofman, (MD, PhD, Professor Emeritus at UC-Berkeley–no hack, this guy), estimates that 75% of breast cancer cases could be prevented by avoiding exposure to the ionizing radiation of mammography and x-rays.
Sounds like a win-win for everyone. Except, of course, the people who are supposedly benefiting by thinking pink. Maybe next year they could really get everyone’s attention, not just basketball fans, by naming the campaign Think Dead. Just a thought.
Good for you for speaking out about the mamogram travesty.
Thanks, Ellen. And for women who don’t feel comfortable with only the breast self-exam, a better cancer detection technology is on its way.
A new device that screens for breast cancer by measuring electrical resistance in tissue — electricity passes through tumors differently than through normal breast tissue — could soon become a painless, radiation-free, and less costly alternative to mammography.
Preliminary test results indicate that the device catches more cancers and has fewer false positives than mammography, most notably in patients with denser breast tissue, where mammography is least effective.
There is a multi billion dollar industry built up around breast ‘self exams’. Something similar also happened with the make people earn CPR promotion. Both have huge bureaucracies now promoting themselves as well as the procedures themselves, which unfortunately, are not very effective.
In the case of breast self exams, how much better would be an actual health system that women could actually access on a regular basis for real health screenings? Instead, today we have a system that has people going by years and years without any dental or medical screenings of any kind, simply because they cannot afford it.
In the case of CPR promotion, defibs are one key to success in responding to MIs, yet the use of them in non- hospital ER settings or EMT settings is stalled. Plus, aspirin use by those at high risk of a heart attack is not being pushed as it should be, simple and cost effective as it would be if it were.
Most of what our society does with ‘medicine’ in America doesn’t make a lot of any real sense in terms of responding to disease for real people. Instead, we simply have a medical lack of system, with huge dysfunctional and self -serving bureaucracies in place everywhere that mainly block real care being available for those who need it.
The VA system is terrible. I call for an appointment and have to wait three (3) weeks. I tell them I need sinus medicine and they tell me to use salt water to gargle (not a bad idea, but not a substitute for medicine). And what they call mental health care is depressing. It’s not what I would call “supporting the troops”
Actually although the VA is terrible, then again so is the entire US Medical System as a whole. The VA, as bad as it is, is actually better than the bottom portion of the Medical System that more than half the rest of the US population has to deal with. And it comes relatively free fom these other peoples’ tax monies, too.
Lane, the little I’ve seen and read of the VA system, it is indeed terrible.
About the sinus infection, here is a suggestion that might work better than gargling with salt water, or even whatever drugs you may eventually receive. There is a little contraption called a neti pot….it looks like a mini teapot. Find one at a health food store, like Vitamin Cottage and also some sea salt (very important) that comes in a grinder. Fill the pot with warm water, dissolve a 1/2 teaspoon of the sea salt, stick the spout of the pot in one nostril and tilt your head over the sink so the water comes out the other side. Do the same with the other nostril. Keep blowing your nose all the while. You can also put a couple drops of goldenseal, a natural antibiotic, in the mix if you want.
I have a little girl with asthma who has had CONSTANT nasal congestion for years despite the 3 drugs she takes every day. I bought her one of these a couple weeks ago, and she does it faithfully twice every day. She is soooooo much better. She is amazed that things actually smell and taste. I kick myself for not doing it sooner.
I know a head full of congestion can be a very tiring thing. Please give this a try. I’m positive it will help you. Take care.
Yo group,
First Tony, the VA system is not free. A military person had to pay for this system and after retirement still has to pay. Not free. Something “owed” by those of you who never served in the military, yet live off what the military person has to pay. What sort of medical system do you all want? Social type where it is paid for by taxes and parasites who will not work, jet expect you to pay for them to use it? Like in Europe? Dont you know they come here, those that can pay? Or in red china or red cuba – free for all- oh I forgot there are “special” hospitals for the party folks. True drugs and cost needs to be looked at. As does a for-profit hospital. Have to redo our whole system, so remember to vote this year. Let your rep know what you want & where you stand by v o t i n g.
Oh yes, I have had no problems with the VA system. I do go to the local Army base & have been treated wonderful. Normally 1 hour in – get meds – out. Yes, Tony I pay for it 2 ways (cash each month $150 and the 27 years of military service – exposed to all sorts of bugs etc as well combat injury too). Cost is very high as you civilians never get exposed to.
George
Bullshit. I and many other civilians get exposed to dangers on the job daily that are equal to and maybe even greater than military personel are exposed to.
I wonder what Major George the Hero would do on a job where any needle stick might very well be a death sentence? Hey, George, still laughing about your claim that you have emptied vets’ bedpans before. You are a real Chuckles!