thyme4change
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Komen
Jul 23, 2012 12:35:18 GMT -5
Post by thyme4change on Jul 23, 2012 12:35:18 GMT -5
On another thread people disparaged Komen. I don't know much about the organization - but I know they are a machine! That pink ribbon is ubiquitous and I feel that their marketing has gone too far. The fact that they get a nickel every time I buy any of several gazillion products has actually made me like them less.
What do you know about this organization? What good things do they do? What mishaps have they had?
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zibazinski
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Komen
Jul 23, 2012 12:37:26 GMT -5
Post by zibazinski on Jul 23, 2012 12:37:26 GMT -5
I'm against them because they misuse their funds. It started out as agood thing but then turned into a money making ego venue.
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thyme4change
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Komen
Jul 23, 2012 12:39:33 GMT -5
Post by thyme4change on Jul 23, 2012 12:39:33 GMT -5
I think part of their success is that they can talk about boobs all day to a society full of boobs who are obsessed with boobs.
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Taxman10
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Komen
Jul 23, 2012 12:47:56 GMT -5
Post by Taxman10 on Jul 23, 2012 12:47:56 GMT -5
I think part of their success is that they can talk about boobs all day to a society full of boobs who are obsessed with boobs. I like boobs....
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ontrack
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Komen
Jul 23, 2012 12:49:32 GMT -5
Post by ontrack on Jul 23, 2012 12:49:32 GMT -5
They lost me when they came out against planned parenthood. PP does a lot of good work for low-income women. They're not all about abortions.
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jaya3300
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Joined: May 26, 2012 20:13:51 GMT -5
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Komen
Jul 23, 2012 12:51:26 GMT -5
Post by jaya3300 on Jul 23, 2012 12:51:26 GMT -5
They lost me when they came out against planned parenthood. PP does a lot of good work for low-income women. They're not all about abortions.
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happyhoix
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Komen
Jul 23, 2012 12:55:22 GMT -5
Post by happyhoix on Jul 23, 2012 12:55:22 GMT -5
I was at a hobby store Saturday and saw a whole display of various pink yarns with the pink ribbon on the display box. Apparently if you buy the yarn they donate part of it to Komen.
I guess I don't know how I feel about that. I would have to go look at their spending record to see how much of their funds go to cancer research vs how much goes out in overhead.
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kittensaver
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Komen
Jul 23, 2012 13:00:10 GMT -5
Post by kittensaver on Jul 23, 2012 13:00:10 GMT -5
What started out long ago as a woman with a grass-roots mission to assure that other women like her would not lose their beloved sisters to cancer has turned into a huge money-making machine hellbent on survival of the organization for survival's sake. But to be fair, this is not a lot different than a lot of other organizations. Times change, founders move on and "corporate structure" takes over. Komen now actively pursues (and sues!) folks who use pink or use some version of "for the cure" in any of their public or private endeavors. They have also allowed politics to enter their work (the whole Planned Parenthood flap). The officer who made the decision to stop funding PP has resigned in the ensuing uproar, but the damage has been done.
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midjd
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Komen
Jul 23, 2012 13:14:26 GMT -5
Post by midjd on Jul 23, 2012 13:14:26 GMT -5
They lost me when they came out against planned parenthood. PP does a lot of good work for low-income women. They're not all about abortions. I had thyroid cancer as a teen and it was a nurse-practitioner from PP who spotted the abnormality and sent me to get further testing. So for an ostensibly anti-cancer organization to come out against PP... well, PP has done a hell of a lot more to keep ME cancer-free than any damn pink ribbon.
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Deleted
Joined: May 1, 2024 17:03:33 GMT -5
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Komen
Jul 23, 2012 13:18:21 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2012 13:18:21 GMT -5
They lost me when they came out against planned parenthood. PP does a lot of good work for low-income women. They're not all about abortions.
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Cookies Galore
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Komen
Jul 23, 2012 13:20:14 GMT -5
Post by Cookies Galore on Jul 23, 2012 13:20:14 GMT -5
I haven't been a komen supporter in a good number of years, if ever. There's the mismanagement of funds and the unfortunate politics, but really i can't get behind the marketing of breast cancer. Cancer is not cute, sexy, and sassy.
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midjd
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Komen
Jul 23, 2012 13:23:25 GMT -5
Post by midjd on Jul 23, 2012 13:23:25 GMT -5
Megh, how about those Facebook memes where everyone posts their bra color or some nonsensical sexual innuendo to raise awareness of cancer?
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swamp
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Komen
Jul 23, 2012 13:24:56 GMT -5
Post by swamp on Jul 23, 2012 13:24:56 GMT -5
I had thyroid cancer as a teen and it was a nurse-practitioner from PP who spotted the abnormality and sent me to get further testing. So for an ostensibly anti-cancer organization to come out against PP... well, PP has done a hell of a lot more to keep ME cancer-free than any damn pink ribbon. baby killer.
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swamp
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Komen
Jul 23, 2012 13:25:29 GMT -5
Post by swamp on Jul 23, 2012 13:25:29 GMT -5
Megh, how about those Facebook memes where everyone posts their bra color or some nonsensical sexual innuendo to raise awareness of cancer? Post where your purse is............. I hate those things.............
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thyme4change
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Komen
Jul 23, 2012 13:34:13 GMT -5
Post by thyme4change on Jul 23, 2012 13:34:13 GMT -5
That year my friends were posting "Zebra Stripes" and "Red Lace" and I posted "White with brown stains and torn." I agree with Megh - Cancer isn't sexy.
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thyme4change
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Komen
Jul 23, 2012 13:39:44 GMT -5
Post by thyme4change on Jul 23, 2012 13:39:44 GMT -5
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swamp
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Komen
Jul 23, 2012 13:41:16 GMT -5
Post by swamp on Jul 23, 2012 13:41:16 GMT -5
fundraising, right?
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midjd
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Komen
Jul 23, 2012 13:43:46 GMT -5
Post by midjd on Jul 23, 2012 13:43:46 GMT -5
I wonder how they're defining "education" and "research"... the 10% fundraising seems VERY low.
Ah - they themselves didn't pay for anything, they gave the screening/financial assistance $ to "2000+ community partner organizations". Wonder how much went to THEIR overhead?
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thyme4change
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Komen
Jul 23, 2012 13:46:16 GMT -5
Post by thyme4change on Jul 23, 2012 13:46:16 GMT -5
I was wondering how many of those "education" dollars are really fundraising dollars. If we put a little message for breast cancer awareness on a Swiffer, can we call that education?
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Cookies Galore
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Komen
Jul 23, 2012 13:48:38 GMT -5
Post by Cookies Galore on Jul 23, 2012 13:48:38 GMT -5
Megh, how about those Facebook memes where everyone posts their bra color or some nonsensical sexual innuendo to raise awareness of cancer? Ugh! Or those awful "save the ta-tas" items. No thanks, Im more interested in my Grandmom's/Mom's/sister's/friend's life than filling out their bras.
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NancysSummerSip
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Komen
Jul 23, 2012 15:48:38 GMT -5
Post by NancysSummerSip on Jul 23, 2012 15:48:38 GMT -5
Nancy Brinker, the founder of Komen, is a local resident and very well-known in our local high society circles here. She did not handle the ensuing fallout from the Planned Parenthood flap well. Her reaction (declining interviews until the resulting hoopla got very, very loud and went national) showed how far away she has gotten from the organization she started, which is a shame, but not a surprise. Komen is indeed a money machine, but it's is not doing the job that it set out to do, as evidenced by this interesting New York Times article, which quotes Charity Watch director Daniel Borochoff: www.nytimes.com/2012/04/28/us/with-komen-image-hurt-support-for-affiliates-lags.html?_r=1For the record, Komen does provide financial disclosure forms to Charity Watch (you have to be a subscribing member of Charity Watch to see the information), but Komen does not garner a top rating (A or B) from them. In order to get that top rating, they must meet a number of criteria, including spending at least 75% of their funds on programs and not holding excessive assets in reserve.
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Cookies Galore
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Komen
Jul 23, 2012 16:44:18 GMT -5
Post by Cookies Galore on Jul 23, 2012 16:44:18 GMT -5
I heavily disparaged Susan G. Komen "the SuperbreastFund" in a previous post. I am for fully free reproductive rights/choices for women, so obviously I was extremely offended when the supposedly caring Komen Machine decided to cut funding to Planned Parenthood. I 'm sure that Planned Parenthood has done far more to aid women then the Komen Machine. I hate their cheap little pink ribbon crap. Sorry, but it's always bugged me. It's kind of like tying a blue ribbon on your car's antenna to stop domestic violence ( this was a big fad about 20 years ago ). Pink and blue ribbons don't "do" anything. People do. I have no use for an over- politicized organization who makes hay and money taking care of the upper half of women, but ignoring the wellbeing of the bottom half. I am a whole woman, and you can't emotionally cut me in half with that. I turned down two eager runners at work, and one from Cleveland who knew my late sister-in-law who wanted fundign for their pink ribbon-a-thon. They didn't seem too happy with my response. So, don't ask. And, since my husband is fighting prostate cancer, where's the contribution to prostate cancer research ? Bingo! (and here's a hug for you and your husband )
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Jaguar
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Komen
Jul 24, 2012 5:35:01 GMT -5
Post by Jaguar on Jul 24, 2012 5:35:01 GMT -5
Nasgul, all the best to your hubby that he beats his cancer. As a colon cancer survivor myself, I wish him lots of success.
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swasat
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Komen
Jul 24, 2012 9:10:08 GMT -5
Post by swasat on Jul 24, 2012 9:10:08 GMT -5
I heavily disparaged Susan G. Komen "the SuperbreastFund" in a previous post. I am for fully free reproductive rights/choices for women, so obviously I was extremely offended when the supposedly caring Komen Machine decided to cut funding to Planned Parenthood. I 'm sure that Planned Parenthood has done far more to aid women then the Komen Machine. I hate their cheap little pink ribbon crap. Sorry, but it's always bugged me. It's kind of like tying a blue ribbon on your car's antenna to stop domestic violence ( this was a big fad about 20 years ago ). Pink and blue ribbons don't "do" anything. People do. I have no use for an over- politicized organization who makes hay and money taking care of the upper half of women, but ignoring the wellbeing of the bottom half. I am a whole woman, and you can't emotionally cut me in half with that. I turned down two eager runners at work, and one from Cleveland who knew my late sister-in-law who wanted funding for their pink ribbon-a-thon. They didn't seem too happy with my response. So, don't ask. And, since my husband is fighting prostate cancer, where's the contribution to prostate cancer research ? I totally agree with you Nazgul.
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HoneyBBQ
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Komen
Jul 24, 2012 10:11:23 GMT -5
Post by HoneyBBQ on Jul 24, 2012 10:11:23 GMT -5
They lost me when they came out against planned parenthood. PP does a lot of good work for low-income women. They're not all about abortions. Yep. I tossed all my 5k T shirts the other day. PP spends about 5% of their time on abortions and 95% on prevention. Even if you are against abortion you should be FOR planned parenthood merely for the fact they hand out condoms and try to prevent unplanned pregnancies to begin with (resulting in LESS abortions). They also perform pap smears and mammograms for low income women, thus reducing the burden on Medicare and hospitals with overwhelming indigent patient loads.
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thyme4change
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Komen
Jul 24, 2012 10:17:39 GMT -5
Post by thyme4change on Jul 24, 2012 10:17:39 GMT -5
I think this is a problem with a lot of specialists. For example - I've been to several ENTs for ear pain. They have all given me medication without being able to figure out what is wrong. Turns out, it is TMJ. You would think that an ENT would at least understand that for 15% of the population TMJ manifests into ear pain, and even if they don't want to diagnose it or treat it - at least identify it as a possibility.
Are there any other breast diseases besides breast cancer?
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NancysSummerSip
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Komen
Jul 24, 2012 10:39:28 GMT -5
Post by NancysSummerSip on Jul 24, 2012 10:39:28 GMT -5
And may I add that Planned Parenthood also provides non-family planning medical care as well in many parts of the world where there are few if any other medical care options.
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thyme4change
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Komen
Jul 24, 2012 10:46:15 GMT -5
Post by thyme4change on Jul 24, 2012 10:46:15 GMT -5
Even in the USA for people with money and health insurance, many women see their gyn every year and no other doctor unless something is terribly wrong. Getting your annual pap smear is often considered a primary health exam - just to make sure nothing slips through. Every gyn, every visit - blood pressure, heart, lungs, general health questions. I don't think they are looking for cervical cancer in my lungs.
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Cookies Galore
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Komen
Jul 24, 2012 10:46:40 GMT -5
Post by Cookies Galore on Jul 24, 2012 10:46:40 GMT -5
I think this is a problem with a lot of specialists. For example - I've been to several ENTs for ear pain. They have all given me medication without being able to figure out what is wrong. Turns out, it is TMJ. You would think that an ENT would at least understand that for 15% of the population TMJ manifests into ear pain, and even if they don't want to diagnose it or treat it - at least identify it as a possibility. Are there any other breast diseases besides breast cancer? fibroadenoma, mastitis, mastopathy, mammary dysplasia, fibroepithelial tumors, assesses, i could go on. There are a ton of breast conditions.
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hoops902
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Komen
Jul 24, 2012 10:55:15 GMT -5
Post by hoops902 on Jul 24, 2012 10:55:15 GMT -5
Not sure why everyone is so down on Komen simply because they choose not to support organizations who do abortions. Yes PP does 95% good, so did the coaching staff at Penn State. Is 95% good enough when the other 5% is disgusting and vile? If you think abortion is that bad, it doesn't matter how much other good you do, just like if you think raping children is bad it doesn't much matter what good you did with the other 95% of your time.
How many of you would send funds to Sandusky's charity knowing he was raping boys? Most of that money would go to producing something good. But I bet that doesn't matter to you because of that small percentage that's not.
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