I'm Aware Already!

Note:  It's a rant-y day.  I'm sorry

There's another girl's only breast cancer awareness meme going around Facebook.  This time instead of the color of your bra (which I did participate in last year), you're supposed to put a fruit in your status, indicating your relationship status.  Here's the secret code if you care:

Blueberry: I'm single
Pineapple: it's complicated
Raspberry: I'm a touch and go woman
Apple: Engaged
Cherry: In a relationship
Banana: I'm married
Avocado: I'm the "other one"
Strawberry: Can't find the right one
Lemon: Wish I was single
Grape: Wants to get married.
Passion fruit: Widowed
Peach: Same sex partnership/Domestic Partners

Let's skip right past "Lemon" and on to the other problems with this.  As I said, I did participate in this last year.  It was simple and silly, so why not?  But I've since done some research and now, armed with a bit more knowledge and perspective, I'm becoming more and more bothered by this meme.

The main problem is that it excludes men.  The girl's only attitude implies that breast cancer is a female disease, which isn't true.  Men have breasts, and, like women they can get cancer there.  Yes, women are more likely to get it, but excluding men from the awareness campaign is awful.  It makes it look like an us vs them issue (shhh, don't tell the boys!), when in fact we're all in it together.

I'm also a little mad because March isn't even Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  October is.  I mean, the whole "let's be aware of something for a month" is a little ridiculous anyway.  There are more than twelve things we should be aware of, and we should probably be aware of them all the time, not just for a fraction of the year.  In fact, I found this compilation of all the different causes each month is dedicated to.  It's getting a bit out of hand.

Back to the point.  As far as I'm aware March is Women's History Month.  Now I know my breasts are an important part of who I am as a woman, and I would probably suffer a crisis of identity if I lost one or both of them.  Our concept of self is very much tied to our physical bodies, and there's certainly enough societal pressure telling us that women have boobs and men have balls.  I can only imagine how tough it would be to have a body that doesn't match society's expectations of your gender  It's something that I've been lucky enough not to experience.  I hope I never have to experience it.

As fabulous as my boobs are, they are not my sole defining feature as a woman.  So I'm a little upset that Breast Cancer Awareness is trying to steal the spotlight from Women's History Awareness.  Breast cancer and women's history are both important topics, and both should get a spotlight.  So back off, Breast Cancer.  You'll have your turn again in six short months, when even the NFL wears pink for you.

Finally, I feel compelled to point out that all this awareness isn't doing anything other than generating awareness.  This isn't exactly a bad thing.  But as aware as I am of breast cancer, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of progress being made.  It remains the second most fatal form of cancer for women.  It is, of course, equally fatal for men who contract, but they aren't as likely to get it, so they don't die from it quite as often.  The death rate and diagnosis rate aren't really decreasing at all.

Awareness is leading to a lot of fear and paranoia.  And all those monthly self exams are leading to more false positives than anything else.  False positives are expensive and time-consuming to deal with, not to mention the fear and anxiety they cause.

My OB/GYN (who is incredibly smart and up-to-date on research) told me to just skip the monthly self-exam altogether.  As a young, healthy woman with no family history of breast cancer, I'm better off just letting him check for lumps during my annual exam.  Women over 40 should be getting annual mammograms.  And clearly if you're high risk, you should talk to your doctor about all of this.  But if you aren't, then you probably don't have much to worry about.

All the propaganda is probably just making you needlessly fearful about your own risk.  Take a deep breath, talk to your doctor, do some research (as in, peer-reviewed medical articles) and calm down.  Know what you're actually at risk for.  Personally, I'm far more likely to get skin cancer.  Where's the meme for that?