How do you feel about the pink ribbon?
When you see this:
what comes to mind?
I know too many breast cancer survivors. Some are from my "real" life like my sister-in-law and my BFF. There are a lot more that I know from my online support groups (some of whom I've met in person). There are differing opinions between all of these ladies regarding the pink ribbon. Some of them despise it. They don't want any reminders that they had cancer and hate what it stands for. They are appalled that the world makes a profit from marketing breast cancer. But some of them, like me, embrace it and believe it stands for something else - hope.
Last week I had lunch with one of my KCA sisters, a fellow survivor, and she complimented my pink ribbon necklace. She said it was pretty, but that she can't bring herself to wear anything that displays the fact that she had cancer. She told me she hates that she had cancer. That's no surprise - I hate the fact that I had cancer, too. I don't wear the pink ribbon stuff to bring attention to myself or to advertise that I've had cancer. I don't think the world needs more pink ribbons to bring awareness to breast cancer. The world is more than aware of breast cancer.
I choose to wear my pink ribbon in support of my friends and family who have bravely fought this disease before or alongside me. I choose to wear it because I'm damn proud of myself for fighting through treatment and coming out on the other side. I'm older, wiser, scarred and scared, but I'm alive, and to me, that's what the pink ribbon stands for.
In the morning when I put on my pink beaded bracelet that has a ribbon charm and says "survivor" on it, and when I put on one of the pink ribbon necklaces or my Relay for Life survivor shirt, I think "I'm a fighter".
Score one for me, cancer!
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