A Pink-Ribbon Life?

By Ilene Winkler

Living with metastatic breast cancer is "not a pink-ribbon life," as The New York Times wrote in an excellent article, "A Pink-Ribbon Race, Years Long." It usually means continuous treatments, ongoing scans, and a life filled with uncertainty in a pink-ribbon world that too-often focuses on celebrating "survivorship." Show this article to your family, friends, and coworkers, and they'll get a better understanding of your reality.

And since the Times didn't allow for responses online, please add your comments.

Posted January 21, 2011.

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From Alice Stone: "While I am encouraged to hear that more attention is being paid to metastatic breast cancer, I am outraged that only 5% of monies collected go to the study of metastatic disease. I am very disheartened that only 1 in 4 women live more than five years. I will be beginning year four in February but actually you might say I have six years because I was misdiagnosed for two years. I might have been one of those innocents that only live with stage one breast cancer.
I live each day in fear and anxiety. My scans were clear once and the very next one showed the return of cancer to my spine. My next scan is next week and so the fear heightens. It is a very uncomfortable, upsetting way to live. Although I donate to Share and Sloan Kettering Memorial Hospital (where I am being treated) and Susan G. Komen, I am angry that most of the 40,000 women who die of breast cancer each year are metastatic and only 5% of my money goes to helping women with metastatic disease; helping me. I do appreciate the help I have received from SHARE and hope my life will outlive all the statistics."

— Ilene Winkler

From someone who doesn't want her name used, "After reading the Times article, I see yet again that those of us with metastatic disease are a marginalized population. We are marginalized within the community of women living with breast cancer, and within the research community as well.
I wonder how much of this is agism. That is, what is the median age for those with metastatic disease, as opposed to those with early stage disease?"

— Ilene Winkler

clear!