Whoever thought this one up clearly never had cancer...

Morning peeps and pops.

Bit of a strange post this morning, the medicar forgot me so I have approx one hour to kill. There's been a mad week just happened (I am mad and also very ill) and I'm in the process of writing a huuuge epiccc post, but I won't finish that in my alloted time and for once I'd actually like to write a post about that makes some sense. Anyway, I have a rant to get off my chest. A very chesty, very cancery rant. Here goes.

You've probably all seen all this sillyness on facebook about changing your status in the name of breast cancer. The basic idea is that all the girls change their status to the name of a fruit (cherry, strawberry etc) depending on their relationship status to show their support for breast cancer. All this is supposed to raise awareness. Now, I hear you all saying, how can I object to a cancer awareness campaign? Well, I don't really. All awareness campaigns are good. It it simply this one and the manner in which it is done that really gets me riled up, in more ways than one. Let me explain in a series of numbered points so I don't repeat/confuse myself...

1. Breast cancer affects men and women. Men are often unaware that they can even get this form of cancer so excluding them from the event is a bit stupid. Making breast cancer into and all female culture alienates them even further. It's a disease, not a feminist cult.

2. Breast cancer has one of the highest survival rates and the vast majority of women know the signs and what to look out for. If you asked a hundred women in the street how to look for it, I bet you 90% would say checking for lumps and whatnot. Just two in five women survive ovarian cancer because of the very issue that it's often diagnosed very very late, which is of course because women don't know any of the symptoms. I mean, obviously it's important to promote breast cancer awareness, but it often seems that in the media it's the only cancer that exists in women. More die of lung cancer.

3. The main event on facebook doesn't even mention any of the symptoms to be aware of. What's the point in an awareness campaign that doesn't bother to tell you what to be aware of?

4. Another thing to mention about excluding men- many cancerous lumps are found by the wandering hands of boyfriends. All the girls having statuses that don't even mention their aim, I mean, come on. You imagine the scenario. Boy reads status about breast cancer, boy feels lady's tits, boy finds lump in said tits, lady says oh it's nothing, boy says no go to the doctor you loon, lady is diagnosed faster. You take away the reminder that was that status and the lady could be terminal by the time she'd take herself.

So, the moral of the story? All campaigns good, some campaigns improvable?

Off now, treatment time. Look out for massive super informative post in the next couple of weeks about my super-illness and many many hospital trips.

Constanze, your local friendly cherry. I can't be a diamond cherry because I have the wrong cancer. How unfair.

xXx