I just read several articles about cancer deaths and found that far more men die of prostate cancer than women die of breast cancer. Also, men are much more likely to get this cancer than women get breast cancer. Everywhere we look (on TV, radio, bumper stickers) we see pink. Even with all the hubbub about tobacco causing deaths, we don't spend nearly as much money on lung cancer research etc. Why is there such a disparity? Oh, I was also wondering if it might help to start making brown ribbons to raise awareness to Prostate Cancer! ;-P
Cancer - 8 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
I'M REALLY NOT SURE, BUT THE WAY I SEE IT IS..IF YOU GET CANCER FROM TOBACCO IT WAS A CHOICE.BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE CHOICE OF SMOKING OR NOT! BUT YOU DON'T CHOOSE BREAST CANCER
2 :
Because we're closer to finding a cure to breast cancer than we are to a lot of other cancers.
3 :
Breast cancer is a very "popular" cancer, and it receives a lot of public attention because it can destroy one of the most visibly "important" parts of a woman's body.
4 :
yeah, I don't really feel sorry for a smoker with lung cancer. And what can I say, men love the (.)(.)s. Maybe that is why we spend so much more on breast cancer research. Seriously, fewer women die of breast cancer BECAUSE we have put forth so much effort in fighting it, not the other way around. Perhaps we should up the research we do on prostate cancer as well. Send me a brown ribbon......
5 :
I dont know. But dont I think a difference in publicity in this case means a difference in research funds. Not all the money in research comes from such campains. If you look at the actual funds, even for academic research, most of it (the biggest amounts, which are actually an investment) comes from pharmas. If there are a lot of people suffering from it, pharmas will definetely invest. The more people, the more money they get. Remember, those companies are in stock markets, in which retirement funds are invested... You wouldn't like them to make bad investments, would you ?
6 :
While all cancer is obviously a terrible thing, most people don't realize how "ordinary" it is: about 1 in four of us will develop some form of cancer in our lifetime. Prostate cancer generally strikes older men, and though sometimes very serious, the men who have it often die of something else age-related first. Breast cancer strikes women of all ages. Breast cancer has also become one of the more "manageable" cancers over the last few years. I know this sounds like a cold, hard choice, but who would you rather save, if you had to choose; a 25-year-old mother of two babies, or a 74-year-old grandfather who has lived a rich, full life? Lung cancer from tobacco products is a lifestyle choice! * (Yes, I know that not all lung cancer is a consequence of tobacco use, but an awful lot of it is. )
7 :
All cancer deserves equal funding. It is an absolute horror no matter what age, stage or grade or type of cancer you have. A horror. I cannot in good conscience try to pick out one cancer that should receive more attention and more funding than another, including breast cancer. I am glad that they have the support and organization to lead the fight against their cancer. On the other hand, I have a child with a rare cancer. There is always a sinking feeling in my gut because children and young people with his disease are dying. Pretty much all of them . . and it is a rotten, rotten cancer that robs these young people of life. Their bellies fill up with multiple huge tumors that become so heavy they can no longer stand up. I cannot even convey how misearable this disease is. It is so difficult when the little ones, the five to ten year old children have this cancer. I know that there are other diseases out there that deserve funding and research, but my heart aches for the young people suffering from abdominal sarcoma. There are no pink ribbons for them. There are no advocates for them. They are invisible in our society. They die slowly and painfully and out of the way so that no one notices. And, it's nobody's fault. But, back to the question, the reason for the disparity is simply . . large numbers of people, survivors, and a good solid organization dedicated to education and advocating for funds to stop breast cancer. Rare cancers do not have the organization because they don't have the numbers of people needed for a campaign and truthfully, few survivors are left to advocate for their disease. And, although the medical community is intrigued by this rare cancer, currently funding is limited for cancers that could save so few people, and there is no active research taking place. People with rare cancer at the moment . . are expendable. They are the part of the statistics rattled off casually. But what can you do? There is little we can do about it. So, we just do the best that we can and always stay focused and hopeful. And, yeah, we support research for all cancer. Maybe someday I'll have the energy to do more. But, for now, I do what I can by doing research and have created a patient database searching for treatments that may benefit them all.
8 :
Please advise where you have read such articles. Also, brown ribbons are already available and several parties already display them. I would suggest checking out the National Cancer Institues website to get a better grasp on what the statistics show regarding these two cancers. I am not sure if you are aware, but breast cancer can effect women at a very young age. Girls as young as 13 years old have been known to have this terrible diease. Also, if you check out the staticstics on the National Cancer institutes website you will find that 80% of the men who are diagnoised with Prostate cancer are over the age of 65. Also, check the American Cancer Society statictic and compare. Here is the info I found, and I would consider them a viable source of information: 212,920 women will be diagnoised with breast cancer this year, 40,970 will die. 234,460 men will be diagnoised with prostate cancer this year, and 27350 will die. Note that the diagnoises rate for breast cancer does not include the men that will also be diagnoised. So if you go by these numbers more women will die this year of breast cancer then men dying of protate cancer. I guess what I am trying to say is that both dieases are terrible. I doubt you will find anyone that would argue that. All cancer is terrible. But if you want reliable numbers, check reliable sources. The National Cancer Insitute has access to SEER which really has more statistics then either you or I would ever need, however, if you are a numbers person like me, you will love it. One other item to think of is that there are organizations that have dumped millions if not billions of $$ into education about breast cancer such as the Komen Foundation. Yes, the use of the pink ribbon can be overwhelming, not to mention if a company gives a whopping 1% of their profit to research. Also, I am sure that in one way or another you are being affected by prostate cancer and my thoughts are with you. Best of luck on getting that brown ribbon out there! :)
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