Learned On...

Pink October: The Commercialization of Breast Cancer

It is that month again.  The one where you suddenly see pink shoes, M&M’s, vacuum cleaners (?) and, well.. probably lawn mowers.  This just makes me wonder if a cause can be harmed more than helped when a brand attaches itself in this way, going to extreme lengths for some perception of goodwill to (wo)man.  Yes, I am a tad cynical by nature, but am I the only one feeling a little pink overkill?

Check out my latest HuffingtonPost piece for more.

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Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007 in Cause/Social Marketing, Huffington Post Contribution, PINK Thinking

  • http://www.getfreshminds.com Katie Konrath

    I definitely think that the whole pink thing has gone too far. They even make shotguns in pink now–complete with matching hat.

    http://thebrandbuilder.blogspot.com/2007/10/why-didnt-anyone-think-of-this-before.html

    (http://tinyurl.com/2q9dd2)

    Definitely not the way to appeal to women!

  • http://www.getfreshminds.com/2007/10/heres-a-idea-th.html getFreshMinds.com | Creativity | Innovation | Ideas so fresh–they should be slapped!

    Here’s a idea that will have you tickled pink!

    Over at Learned on Women, Andrea reminded her readers that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month–and that it’s also the month that companies make everything in pink. Everything? Yes. Everything. That, by the way, is a pink 20-gauge Remington 870

  • http://www.mycanceronline.com/ Kelly

    It feels great to see so many bloggers participating in the Breast Cancer Awareness month! :)

  • http://www.drdach.com Jeffrey Dach MD

    October should also be called Iodine Supplement Awareness Month, since Iodine is the key to breast cancer prevention.

    Fibrocystic Breast Disease, the Iodine Deficiency Connection.

    A good friend of ours just went through an ordeal with breast cancer. The incidence of breast cancer has increased to 1 in 8 women, with 4,000 new cases weekly.

    You might ask, could there be a preventive measure which is safe, cheap and widely available that has been overlooked?

    The answer is YES , and it’s the essential mineral, Iodine, which was added to table salt in 1924 as part of a national program to prevent Goiter. It turns out that this same Iodine in table salt is the key to breast cancer prevention as proposed by the following list of prestigious doctors:

    Guy Abraham, MD, Robert Derry MD PHD, David Brownstein MD, George Flechas MD, Donald Miller, M.D.

    Dr. B.A. Eskin published 80 papers over 30 years researching iodine and breast cancer, and he reports that iodine deficiency causes breast cancer and thyroid cancer in humans and animals. Iodine deficiency is also known to cause a pre-cancerous condition called fibrocystic breast disease.

    W.R. Ghent published a paper in 1993 which showed iodine supplementation works quite well to reverse and resolve fibrocystic changes of the breast, and this is again the subject of a current clinical study.(Can J Surg. 1993 Oct;36(5):453-60.)

    Despite its obvious potential, not much has been done with Iodine treatment over the past 40 years in the United States. Since iodine isn’t patentable and is therefore unlikely to be profitable to market, there is no money to fund studies for “FDA approval”. However, FDA approval is not required since Iodine is already an additive to table salt at the supermarket.

    For more information see my newsletter

    http://jeffreydach.com/2007/05/05/jeffreydachdrdachiodine.aspx

    Jeffrey Dach MD
    http://drdach.com/