With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month and pink ribbon culture being so prevalent in our society, I wondered where money donated to breast cancer research was actually going. Upon my investigations, I found some troubling facts and statistics about the Susan G. Komen for the Cure that made me question that my donations were going to a good cause. Here are some of my findings:
1. Only 21% of money raised by Susan G. Komen for the Cure goes to cancer research.
This means that 79% of funds raised are not going to cancer research or finding a cure! When you donate to cancer research, you are actually giving your funds to drug companies who already make millions and billions in profit every year.
2. In 2013, Susan G. Komen partnered with Real Water to sell pink water bottles.
Disposable water bottles contain BPA (Bisphenol A). BPA is a chemical that is linked to tumor growth and breast cancer. It makes absolutely no sense for Komen to endorse a product that carries the risk for causing the very disease that they are fighting against.
3. In 2011, Susan G. Komen for the Cure manufactured and sold a perfume that contained potentially cancer causing toxic ingredients.
The perfume, named "Promise Me", contained coumarin, oxybenzone, and toluene which are known to cause cancer. When the news spread about the ingredients and their link to cancer, the perfume was pulled off of the market.
4. In 2010, Susan G. Komen for the Cure partnered with KFC to sell pink buckets of fried chicken.
Fast food consumption is directly linked to obesity. Obesity is the second leading cause of cancer. Sellng calorie loaded buckets of full of fried chicken does not promote a health conscious image. Promoting a healthier product would have been a much better decision!
5. In 2014, Susan G. Komen partnered with Baker Hughes to produce 1,000 pink drill bits.
These drill bits were advertised with the slogan "Doing Our Bit for the Cure". These bits were used for fracking operations, which involves the use of over 700 different chemicals like benzene and formaldehyde. Some of these chemicals are linked to cancer.
6. In 2012, CEO and Founder Nancy Brinker was paid $684,717.
This startling amount of money was also a 64% increase from her 2011 salary of $417,000. She received this salary even after there was a substantial drop in donations and over 1/2 of their 3 day race fundraisers were cancelled.
7. In 2012, Komen used misleading statements and deceptive statistics in their advertisements that promoted mammograms.
This drew criticism from the medical community. Susan G. Komen uses donation money to provide mammograms to women who cannot afford them. Although this seems like a good allocation of funds, a 25 year study of 90,000 women proved that mammograms do not save lives. Early detection campaigns over diagnose and channel women into over treatment, unnecessary surgical procedures, and unneeded chemo, radio, and hormone therapies.
These are just a few reasons that I will not support selling sickness and The Susan G. Komen Foundation. The best way to help cancer patients is to give money directly to them! Offering to help with day to day activities also takes stress off of someone seeking cancer treatment. The best thing to do is research before you donate so that you know exactly where your money is going!
