Breast cancer culture can include anything from pink ribbons, to a “set of attitudes, activities and values that surround and shape breast cancer in public” ( Wikipedia). In the United States and many other places, it usually takes on a biomedicine approach. The culture promotes doctors, medicine and mammograms.  Breast cancer affects so many people today. It is actually the most common cancer that is diagnosed after skin cancer in the United States ( Mayo Clinic ). Research and awareness has helped create advances in diagnosis and treatmentIn 2018, the National Institute of Health spent around $ 600 million dollars on breast cancer research (NCI). 

In the early 90’s, there was very little money going towards cancer research.  A breast cancer survivor, Charlotte Haley, created the first breast cancer ribbon with the words “ Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbons… join the grassroots movement” ( Holmes 2012 ). Although the original intent was to raise money for breast cancer research, now companies have been using pink ribbon related marketing. This majority of this money does not go toward the cause but instead to improve their image and revenue.  In the film Pink Ribbon INC, Lea Pool looks at why breast cancer rates have been increasing even though billions of dollars have been raised.  

Additionally, during one of the interviews it was mentioned that the theme of the breast cancer campaign was beating cancer was depended on how hard you try. One woman stated that the message was that “ if you try really hard… and live strong, you can beat it. So just try really hard. And people who die didn’t just try hard enough” ( Pool ). Also it was mentioned that the world survivor should not be used, because it is “ a put down” of people who did not survive. According to Ley, the term survivor does not encourage women to come together and change “ social, political and economic conditions” it is about individual and their battle with the disease.  

In the book by Ley, she talks about how the eco – feminist perspective was taken when looking at breast cancer. She argues that feminism that structured the Breast Cancer Fund campaign “ shapes the environmental breast cancer movement”. It places the blame that breast cancer is a result of women’s lifestyle choices rather than social, economical and political systems. Additionally, she also mentions that the ultra feminizing of breast cancer culture inspires women to become consumers than become activists. Women are encouraged to buy “ pink sweatshirts, aprons, socks, rhinestones” in an effort to raise money for cancer research. But as mentioned before, most of these companies value financial profit over women’s health. The term used to describe this is pinkwashing, where companies use the pink symbol as a marketing technique. This often benefits businesses more than breast cancer efforts. 

Before reading and watching this week’s material, I was unaware that breast cancer culture as some significant negative factors. I always viewed the pink ribbon campaign and various other breast cancer related activities as always positively influencing breast cancer research and supporting other cancer patients with their  fight against cancer. This week material really helped me understand and be aware of how some one of these programs can actually negatively impact people with cancer.

“2018 NCI Budget Fact Book – Research Funding.” National Cancer Institute, www.cancer.gov/about-nci/budget/fact-book/data/research-funding.

Holmes, Anna. “Detailing the Problems of ‘Breast Cancer Culture’.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 9 Feb. 2012, www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/detailing-the-problems-of-breast-cancer-culture/2012/02/09/gIQA3DiT2Q_story.html.

“Breast Cancer.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 22 May 2019, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/breast-cancer/symptoms-causes/syc-20352470.

Ley, B. L. (2009). From pink to green: Disease prevention and the environmental breast cancer movement. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

Pool, L. Pink Ribbons, Inc. Dailymotion, 3 Aug. 2017, www.dailymotion.com/video/x5vqdad.