Thoughts on Breast Cancer Awareness Month
October is breast cancer awareness month. I both love and loathe this month.
Dr. Kristine Slam
When choosing to support/recognize/celebrate breast cancer awareness month, please be cognizant of several things.
Many organizations are out just to make money off a patient’s illness. If you choose to donate, please do your research and make sure you know what your money is actually going to. If the majority of your donation is not actually going to patient care, research, or funding, don’t donate! Don’t just buy something with a pink ribbon on it.
Many women will celebrate this month as survivors, but many also find it painful. If you know someone with breast cancer, please be kind and follow their lead on how they feel about this month. Don’t automatically assume things.
While many women are diagnosed, treated, and cured of breast cancer, some of the effects of treatment are lifelong. Whether this is surgical scarring, chronic pain, or neuropathy from chemo, some treatment effects may linger years after treatment. It’s NEVER just “getting new boobs”. Again, be kind and try and understand. If you don’t understand, ask!
Some women may not beat the disease. They may be stage 4 patients with metastasis in other organs, on chronic suppressive therapy. Or some have succumbed to their disease pretty quickly and their families are struggling. We need to continue to push for treatments and advancements for late-stage disease.
Many other cancer patients may feel slighted by this month. There has always been a lot of emphasis on breast cancer, and much less emphasis on other malignancies such as colon cancer, pancreas cancer, pediatric cancers, and melanoma. Please do not forget that these patients need our emotional and financial support also.
Dr. Slam is a board-certified surgeon and has a clinical focus in oncology and breast cancer, and has advanced surgical skills in hidden scar breast cancer surgery, oncoplastic breast surgery, and nipple-sparing mastectomy. Learn more about Dr. Slam here.