Not so long ago, breast cancer received neither the attention nor the funding it deserves as the killer of more than 40,000 women - in the United States alone - each year.
What talk there was came in hushed conversations, almost always between women. And large gatherings to bring the public spotlight, and money, to breast cancer prevention and research? They simply didn't happen.
Listen up, they shouted. Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women. This year in the United States, 212,920 women and 1,720 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and 40,970 women and 460 men will die from the disease.
And they went to work, establishing a network of affiliates and events like the Komen Race for the Cure, all intended to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease by funding research, education, screening and treatment projects in communities around the world.
They're succeeding. Through fiscal year 2005, the Komen Foundation has invested $630 million in breast cancer research and prevention. Real money. Real awareness. Real payoffs.
Part of that effort was to display the Komen Foundation's pink ribbon - now a recognized symbol of the fight against breast cancer - on the products of corporations that donated some of their profits to breast cancer research.
So-called “pinked products” proclaim to shoppers a company's solidarity with the cause, and “shop for a cure” now includes everything from pet food, yogurt and cars to candy, jeans, frozen dinners and jewelry. This year alone, the Komen Foundation's partners are expected to donate $33 million from the sale of “pink” products.
The problem is that any company can put a pink ribbon on any product - and increasingly, unscrupulous retailers are using the heightened awareness of and support for breast cancer simply to peddle their wares. Some retailers paste pink ribbons on their goods, but give nothing to breast cancer research, treatment or prevention. Not a cent.
And that just doesn't seem right.
So now the Komen Foundation (www.komen.org) is asking its corporate partners to disclose on the label the dollar amount to be donated, the minimum guaranteed donation and the time period for the promotion - all guidelines suggested by the Better Business Bureau and its Wise Giving Alliance.
And a newly formed advocacy group, Breast Cancer Action, has opened a Web site (thinkbeforeyoupink.org) to expose businesses that only pretend to be “pink.” That group suggests a simple alternative: Donate your money directly to a known, reputable breast cancer group like the Komen Foundation. Eliminate the middleman.
What a shame, though, for valuable time and energy to be diverted from the fight against breast cancer to instead fight these scams against would-be donors. What a long journey this has been, with so many miles left to be traveled. Let's not make the journey any tougher or sadder by preying upon the spirit of giving to increase corporate bottom lines.
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