Posts tagged cancer

Komen Foundation: Selling Us for the Cure

Komen has been eager to accept corporate funds from the likes of pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, but Eli Lilly also happens to be the sole producer of rGBH, a bovine growth hormone which, when it ends up in our dairy products, is known to increase cancer risks. What’s more, while Komen tells their supporters that the foundation’s partnership with the drugmaker is in service of finding a breast cancer cure, Eli Lilly - which also manufactures cancer treatment drugs - might profit from such a cure, or perhaps even prefer that it not be found.

Eli Lilly also manufactured DES, which Komen now denies may cause cancer. #facepalm

Poor women are now at greater risk for breast cancer death because of less access to screening and better treatments.
American Cancer Society report

Your Man Reminder is reasonably sassy, since it tackles the serious issue of breast health with photos of hunky guys. A user chooses from six available dudes, including a clean-cut preppie and a sweaty athlete, and then he occasionally appears on her phone with messages like, “Hey, Tammy. You’re like a break for my eyes. Don’t forget to give your breasts some TLC.” TLC means Touch, Look, and Check, so this dreamboat is encouraging Tammy to give herself a personal exam. (The app also comes with information about cancer symptoms and a calendar for tracking doctor’s appointments.)

Cute boys are more appealing than stern doctors, so Your Man Reminder might encourage some women to take care of themselves. That’s great, but it’s still disconcerting to see breast cancer treated like a flirty game.

Last year in the New York Times Magazine, Peggy Orenstein argued that breast cancer campaigns full of pink ribbons and tight T-shirts diminish the reality of the disease. She wrote, “Sexy cancer suppresses discussion of real cancer, rendering its sufferers — the ones whom all this is supposed to be for — invisible.” Your Man Reminder is about early detection instead of treatments or cures, and it objectifies men instead of women, but Orenstein’s argument still applies. It must be possible to downplay the fear surrounding breast cancer detection without suggesting a self exam is more fun than a bachelorette party.

Of course, if Your Man Reminder appeals to certain women and results in increased awareness, then it might be churlish to complain about the messaging.