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Voices: Pink

breast cancercancer researchOvarian Cancer
Oct 17, 2013

Pink | Dee Sparacio

I’ve never liked pink. Honestly, that is just the way I have been since I was young. I’ve always shied away from clothing that was any shade of pink. I just don’t think the color goes well with my complexion. I hardly ever dressed my daughter in pink when she was little and to this day she doesn’t wear pink either.

This month there is little one can do to avoid pink. You find pink breast cancer awareness ribbons on products on the grocery store shelf, pink ribbons on products in TV commercials, special pink clothing on sale and you even find pink as part of the NFL player’s uniforms. I am not as harsh as other ovarian cancer survivors who say they hate pink and hate when breast cancer awareness month rolls around. Having a sister who passed away from breast cancer makes me feel differently—cancer is cancer. I just can’t get that angry over a color. Research into treatments for one cancer can help another. PARP inhibitors first used with BRCA1 & 2 breast cancers are currently being tested in women with ovarian cancer.

But I do have feelings when I see the pink ribbons. I feel a bit jealous. Jealous of the awareness created by those pink ribbons. Jealous of the funding (both government and non-profit) that goes toward breast cancer research. Jealous of the huge three-day walks that fund research. Jealous of the mammogram that catches so many breast cancers at an early stage.

I hope that one day the color of the ribbon won’t matter and that there will be screening tests and curative treatments for the common and not so common women’s cancers.

Every Day is a Blessing!
Dee