No More Komen Pink! Yeah.

I've hated the whole October Pink thing for quite a while.  It's mainly about making money for corporations and very little about curing breast cancer--pink vacuum cleaners, ugh!  In fact, more than half the donations collected by the Susan G. Komen foundation go to breast cancer awareness, not to research that focuses on prevention or cure.  If there's a single woman in this country not aware of the dangers of breast cancer, she must have been living with the Uni-bomber, and he's been in jail for years.  We've all known about breast cancer, long before there was a Susan G. Komen Foundation to tell us, let alone with pink ribbons.  And then there's the huge salaries that the Komen Foundation pays its executives--over $400,000, and the law suits it brings against other non-profits that use any of its terminology (race for the cure) or the color pink to raise awareness.  Curing cancer is of less concern to Koman than protecting its brand.  (How did Komen get restricted rights to pink ribbons anyway?)

I can only be glad that the right-leaning Komen Foundation may soon be history with the furor over its recent decision to no longer fund Planned Parenthood, on the specious argument that PP is currently under investigation, when it was solely because PP funds abortions.  About 3% of PP's funds are used to fund abortions--the remainder go to support other health issues, including cancer screenings, and mainly for those who don't have insurance and can't afford private care.  Let's hope that all those good-intentioned people who gave money to Komen won't stop but instead will give to organizations that actually focus on curing cancer, all cancers.  I should add that more women die each year from lung cancer than from breast cancer.

I'm as disturbed about the Komen Foundation's "political" decision to defund Planned Parenthood as I was about the Obama decision not to allow the sale of the "day-after" pill over the counter.  I wish Republicans and Democrats alike would keep health issues, particularly women's health issues, out of politics.  If you agree and want to let the Komen Foundation know how you feel, google Susan G. Komen report improper conduct and you can express your disagreement with its improper conduct.  Even better, send a donation to Planned Parenthood in the name of the Susan G. Komen Foundation.