Has the pink ribbon outlived its welcome for breast cancer?
“Pink, the supposed color of femininity, does not represent breast cancer to me," says survivor Erika Lads.
Nan Feyler, chief of staff for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, is a member of an expert panel intended to expand the breadth of The Public's Health.
By Nan Feyler
Since 1985, October has been designated a month to promote breast cancer awareness, share information on the disease, and provide greater access to related services. For some, it is a time to reflect on family members and friends who have died from breast cancer; an opportunity to raise money for breast cancer research and treatment, or a chance to join in solidarity in the fight against breast cancer. For others it is a month of endless pink – pink water in public fountains, buildings awash in soft pink lighting, pink-adorned cheerleaders with pink pom poms and lots of merchandise emblazoned with a pink ribbon – that they see as evidence of the commercialization of a disease that science is still struggling to understand, and is far from preventing.
Some believe that the sea of pink ribbons every October – and increasingly year round – sugarcoats the harsh reality of breast cancer; an estimated 226,870 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and 39,510 women will die of it.
The upbeat spin focusing on hope and survival encourages some but offends others, who say it makes invisible the thousands of women who have the most serious and deadly types of breast cancer: 155,000 women in the United States are living with Stage IV breast cancer, which cannot be cured, necessitating life-long, often-grueling treatment.
Many survivors say they resent associating cancer with shopping for products garnished in pink.
What about the merchandise emblazed with a pink ribbon? The range of products that have been "pinked," to use the marketing term, is astounding, from cars, to candy, staplers, clothes, wine, kitchen blenders, a bucket of chicken and the entire National Football League.
No laws have been passed to regulate cause marketing. No one has copyrighted the pink ribbon. Nor is there any legal requirement that a company donate any part of pink-ribboned product sales to charity. Earlier this month, the New York State attorney general issued best practices to promote transparency in charitable "cause marketing" campaign. The nation's two largest breast cancer charities, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Breast Cancer Research Foundation have agreed to adopt the best practices.
So, have the ubiquitous pink ribbons outlived their usefulness? Do they now do more to increase sales than awareness? Or is the abundance of pink ribbons and worldwide coverage of Breast Cancer Awareness Month worthwhile – raising millions of dollars annually for breast cancer treatment and research that would not be available otherwise? Do the pink festooned parties provide good will and solidarity, or do they trivialize the harsh reality of living with breast cancer?
Let the buyer beware.
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