Read This, Not That

The Commercialization of Cancer

Forgotten amid the fury over Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s defunding of Planned Parenthood this week is the fact that Komen was never a wonderful organization to begin with. Writing for Marie Claire, Lea Goldman examines the shortcomings of the six billion dollar cancer awareness industry:

A popular gripe among advocates is that too much is spent on awareness campaigns — walks, races, rallies — at the expense of research. (And really, when Snuggies go pink, haven’t we hit our awareness saturation point?) There’s a case to be made for that, of course, but there’s another explanation, one that exposes an ugly, even blasphemous truth of the movement: Breast cancer has made a lot of people very wealthy. The fact is, thousands of people earn a handsome living extending their proverbial pink tin cups, baiting their benefactors with the promise of a cure, as if one were realistically in sight. They divert press, volunteers, and public interest away from other, more legitimate organizations, to say nothing of the money they raise, which, despite the best intentions of donors, doesn’t always go where it’s supposed to.

Read the full article here.