clankyrobot

You won't find 100%, simply because all of these organizations have staff that they need to pay that direct the money to researchers, run the websites, etc. But here are some that give 85-90% to research, though they still succumb to "pinking" their website every October: Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation: http://dslrf.org/actwithlove/ Breast cancer research foundation: http://www.bcrfcure.org/ You can also help by donating your time/health records by joining the Army of Women (if you're a woman, obviously): http://www.armyofwomen.org/.

I've been reading your blog since the month my sister died, July 2011. At that time, I desperately needed to read/hear the voice of someone who in some way lived what she lived. To share a brief bit before getting to my question, my sister was 27 when diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002 and was, at the time, the youngest person our local doctors had ever treated for BC. She went through chemo, a lumpectomy, and was deemed "cancer free" about a year later. After that, she took tamoxifen for 5 years, thought she was "cured" and went on living, and tried desperately to forget cancer was ever a part of her/our lives. In February 2011, she was diagnosed with both ovarian cancer (IIIC) and uterine sarcoma (IA). Her doctor at the time remarked that it was probably the tamoxifen that had caused these new cancers. She underwent a complete hysterectomy with debulking and afterwards, they treated the ovarian cancer first with chemo. In April, she was told they could find no evidence of disease (NED). By July, that NED turned into "masses too numerous to count" in her liver, lymph nodes and pelvic bone-- the uterine sarcoma had spread fiercely. She passed away from liver failure 3 days after that scan, leaving behind a 4 year old son. All of that is to ask you, what do you think of the use of tamoxifen, which is known to increase the probability of reproductive cancers? It sounds like you weren't treated with it, but I know many have. I know science is doing the best it can with the tools it has, but damn it if I don't feel more than a bit bitter that science may have caused the cancer that ultimately took my sister.

I too struggle with Pinktober and have difficulty going in to any stores during October. I think we can all agree that awareness has been raised and now it is time to eradicate this disease, once and for all. The pinking and messaging also has an overt sexualization, which should really bother everyone. The tagline "save the boobies/tatas" certainly sets up a dichotomy between the woman (or man!) and her parts. Sadly, in my sister's case, they were able to save her "boobies", but weren't able to save her life. I now try to crusade for giving money to organizations that actually fund research, and to stop the madness of all these pink walks and pink products. I also have signed up for numerous medical studies so that doctors can study what hereditary factors may have led to my sister's cancer at such a young age.

Thank you for all that you do everyday. I still follow your blog religiously as a lurker, and I value your humor, humility and insights.