I'm Just Sayin'

The Komen Foundation is engaged in the doo-doo dance. You know, when you step in a pile of dog poop and then you scuff around trying to get the crap off your shoes. It ain’t pretty. It’s almost impossible to do it gracefully. And if you do manage to clean your shoes, you’re still left with a pile of shit in your yard.

That’s what I thought when I studied today’s statement, in which Komen supposedly reversed its decision to de-fund Planned Parenthood, and apologized for casting doubt on its commitment.

When I first read the statement, I felt triumphant. The angry and indignant outcry from hundreds of thousands of former Komen supporters had been heard! But then I read it again, and got a whiff of something stinky. After reading it several times, and mulling it over for a few hours, I’ve come to the conclusion that Komen still has poop on its shoes, and it might never get its yard cleaned up.

Today’s statement was very carefully worded to make me feel like I’d won. And, feeling warm and fuzzy with victory, I’d be more likely to forgive and forget. And in the spirit of forgiveness, perhaps I would reconsider my vow to de-fund Komen. After all, they changed their minds, so shouldn’t I change mine? Shouldn’t we all just get back to the business at hand – protecting women’s health?

In reality, the statement didn’t offer much. It said Komen would “continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood …” But they never said they would take money away from Planned Parenthood, just that they would not approve future grants. Stinky.

In today’s statement, Komen also pledged to “preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants.” Well, of course anyone can apply for a grant, but that doesn’t mean Komen would actually consider the application. Smelly.

And while Komen has repeatedly denied that its decision to de-fund Planned Parenthood was political, today’s statement clearly pointed the political finger at those who cried foul. “We urge everyone who has participated in this conversation across the country over the last few days to help us move past this issue. We do not want our mission marred or affected by politics - anyone's politics.” We weren’t playing politics with women’s health, but if you don’t return to the fold, your politics is getting in the way of our mission. Reeking.

Perhaps I am being too harsh. Maybe I am too bitter to see this objectively. Could be. But I won’t apologize for that. It’s too personal. The betrayal is still too fresh. And Komen has a long way to go to restore my faith and regain my trust. And in the meantime, I have found alternatives in my personal fight against breast cancer.

I have discovered Forsyth Medical Center Foundation. Donations to this organization can be earmarked for breast cancer screening and treatment at Forsyth Medical Center facilities for uninsured women in nine North Carolina counties. Through its Women’s Council, the foundation addresses a variety of women’s health issues, and it sponsors a mobile mammogram unit to provide on-the-spot screenings in remote and underserved areas. Donors can even request their gift be used specifically by WomanWise, the breast and cervical cancer prevention program administered by Forsyth County Department of Public Health, which has provided me with free mammograms for the past three years that I have been uninsured.

Each and every penny donated to the foundation goes directly to patient care, and there are volunteer opportunities for those with more time than money. For more information go to http://www.forsythmedicalcenter.org/ and click “ways to give.”

I’ve also been reacquainted with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Since 1936, BCRF has provided critical funding for research at leading medical centers worldwide, including Harvard, Yale, Duke, Johns Hopkins, the Mayo Clinic, Washington University in St. Louis, Stanford, UCLA, Oxford, and the University of London. More than 90 cents of every dollar donated goes directly to breast cancer research and awareness programs. For more information, see http://www.bcrfcure.org/index.html.

There is also the National Breast Cancer Foundation, created by a breast cancer survivor to promote early detection through screening, and to provide free mammograms to women in need. NBCF is highly rated as a charitable organization and has an impressive list of corporate and celebrity partners. See http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/default.aspx.

Information about these organizations is provided as a resource, and is not an endorsement. Haven’t we all learned to do our homework? I am sure there are many worthy organizations that are dedicated to breast cancer awareness and prevention and are working to find a cure. I hope to pass along information as I find it, and I encourage my allies in this fight to share their information with me as well.

The Breast Cancer Research Foundation estimates that in the U.S. a woman dies of breast cancer roughly every 13 minutes. That means that more than 300 women have died in America while the Komen Foundation played politics with their lives.

That stinks. I’m just sayin.

I’ve had an emotional day. Scratch that. Ten days.

On January 23 I heard the words I’ve dreaded for so long …”your recent mammogram showed an irregularity…” My heart fell into my stomach, and then my stomach hit the floor. I have a sister who died of breast cancer. I have another sister who survived it. My mother died of brain cancer. One of my brothers just finished treatment for prostate cancer. Yeah, I feel vulnerable.

I’ve pretty much gone about my business for the past week and a half. I told only a few people. I continued to work my three jobs. I gathered up my talismans (a rosary crucifix that my high school friend and pseudo-cousin Michael gave me the night before I left for college and he left for Army basic training, a jade dragon given to me by a grateful immigrant parent for helping her daughter get settled into college half a continent away from home, and the guardian angel prayer card that I placed at my sister’s bedside when she was dying). And I came home from work and fell apart every night. I don’t mention all of this so you will feel sorry for me. I want you to know how deeply personal this is.

So today was the day I went for additional mammography screening. And it was also the day we learned that Komen for the Cure was cutting off funding for Planned Parenthood. Actually I heard about it last night on Facebook. I’m grateful for the distraction. Feelings of hurt, disappointment, sadness and betrayal were a welcome change from worry. Yeah, that’s the kind of week it’s been.

Not to draw this out any longer: I am fine. Today’s more detailed tests showed nothing irregular. Imagine my relief. Imagine my exhaustion. Imagine my gratitude and anger. It’s been a roller coaster kind of day.

A bit of self-disclosure. When my state job was eliminated in 2008, I lost my health insurance. My last several mammograms have been paid for by a local program called Woman Wise, which receives some of its funding from the Komen foundation. That’s not easy to admit, but it is easier to live with because I have been an ardent supporter of Komen. I’ve participated in its Race for the Cure events for several years, in three states. I coordinated a benefit event for Komen, and raised enough to fund several mammograms for uninsured women like me. I bought yogurt with pink lids and went online to register my purchases so Komen would get credit. I bought all kinds of “pink” products to support Komen, both financially and emotionally.

No more.

If you have spent the day under a rock, perhaps you are not aware that Komen for the Cure has chosen to de-fund Planned Parenthood, because Planned Parenthood spends a miniscule amount of its resources on abortion. Yeah, the organization founded on a promise to end death by cancer has turned its back on an organization that provides life-saving cancer screenings, to prove that it is “pro-life.”

I feel betrayed. I feel angry. I feel sad. And I am a writer. When I feel, I write.

I wrote an email to the executive director of the local Komen affiliate. Another bit of self-disclosure: I once applied for a job there, as an event planner. That’s how much I supported Komen. I wanted to give them my time, in addition to my money and my sweat. So I’ve met this woman, and I respect and admire her. Today in my email I told her I could no longer support her organization, and I vowed to contact her corporate sponsors to withdraw my support from them. To her credit, she responded very promptly. She’s in crisis-control mode, like hundreds of her counterparts across the country, a dance thrust upon them by a national executive who apparently has chosen politics over women’s health. I know nothing of the local executive’s political leanings, but I have no doubt of her commitment to the cause. I would not be in her shoes for any amount of money.

She wanted me to know that currently in our area, Planned Parenthood is not funded by Komen, because Planned Parenthood did not apply for a Komen grant. And she sent me an impressive list of 16 regional organizations and projects that are funded by Komen. She informed me that 75 percent of funds raised locally remain in the area to provide live-saving services for local women like me.

I admire all of that. I do. But I cannot accept that one red cent of my hard-earned money, or one drop of my sweat, goes to support the national organization that caved to political pressure from “pro-lifers” who demonstrate no respect for MY life, or the lives of hundreds of thousands of uninsured women.

So I’m on a mission. My mission is to inform anyone who will listen that Komen is not the only game in town when it comes to breast cancer awareness and prevention. There are other organizations that fund mammograms for uninsured and low-income women. There are other efforts that promote breast health awareness. Subsequent posts will list them. I will also identify Komen corporate sponsors in case you want to join me in voicing your disapproval.

If you choose to continue supporting Komen, I respect that. I am sure the foundation will continue to benefit some women. But as long as Komen continues its hateful and destructive policy regarding Planned Parenthood, I will continue to speak out against them in any way I can.

Like the founder of Komen, I made a promise to my dying sister.