Check your box

Ok, hold up! Before you start freakin out… let me just say that I totally respect, admire and love the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaigns, especially the whole “PINK” thing!  It’s genius!  I mean who doesn’t love saying “Save the Tatas?” …and there are at least 50 more fabulous Breast Cancer slogans, where that one came from!  Here are just a few:

• I Stare Because I Care
• Boobs: They Need Your Support!
• Real Men Wear Pink..for the Cure
• Save Second Base
• Save the Boobies
• Think Pink
• Thanks For the Mammories
• I Am A Breast Man
• Save the Hooters

They’re brilliant, right?

However, it’s a bit frustrating, that the our medical community (and possibly society in general) seem very keen to make women aware of Breast Cancer and it’s symptoms (by using large scale awareness campaigns, catchy slogans, the use of a very specific color associated with the disease, education about self exams, access to mammograms, etc. ) but there’s not a lot of discussion about other cancers affecting woman.

Everyone seems very comfortable talking about Breast Cancer.

…but not all cancers are quite as discussable. In 2013, the American Cancer Society reported Lung & Bronchus cancer as the #1 cause of cancer related deaths amongst women.  Also, right up there was; Colon Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer and Ovarian cancer.

I was shocked, four weeks ago, when I learned the symptoms of ovarian cancer!  Up to that point in my life I had never heard them.  Many of you commented that you had no idea what the symptoms were as well. Unfortunately, my daughter’s doctor didn’t piece together her complaints of bloating, frequent urination, feeling of fullness and messed up menstrual cycles, as possibly being related to Ovarian cancer!

Please don’t get me wrong…  I don’t want to take anything away from Breast Cancer! I just don’t want us, to sell ourselves (or our daughters) short.  There are other cancers (and women’s health issues such as Heart Disease) that we should be made aware of as well. We should be taught what their symptoms are as well and how to detect related abnormalities in our bodies.

Lets even out the playing field a little.  Let’s take a lesson from Breast Cancer and demand the medical community and individual cancer organizations help to make us (and our daughters) more aware of these other cancers. We need relevant, up to date, easy to understand information, with catchy slogans, cool colors and awareness campaigns that rock.

For example: “Check your box!”