Thankfully, breast cancer awareness month is over. And we’re nearly done with the dozens of “three day walks” across the country.
Breast cancer is the cancer of choice for celebrity endorsements and mega-charities like the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Susan G. Komen took in over $207 million for fiscal year 2006 (the most recent year for which its financials are available). Susan G. Komen wastes more money in a year than goes into research for other cancers (such as pancreatic cancer). Susan G. Komen spent over $15.2 million on fundraising alone; almost $18 million on administrative functions and the organization had a budgetary excess of $17.7 million.
I don’t fault Susan G. Komen for what they have achieved. There was a time when breast cancer needed the kind of visibility that Komen brought. That time has passed and Susan G. Komen has become a perpetual charity – growing to grow and existing to exist. The organization is more about the status of Pepto pink than it is about breast cancer. And Susan G. Komen is so well funded that it doesn’t need your money.
It’s time to let it go for another year. But by August 2009, Pepto pink will be back and will make all of us nauseous.
Breast cancer is the cancer of choice for celebrity endorsements and mega-charities like the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Susan G. Komen took in over $207 million for fiscal year 2006 (the most recent year for which its financials are available). Susan G. Komen wastes more money in a year than goes into research for other cancers (such as pancreatic cancer). Susan G. Komen spent over $15.2 million on fundraising alone; almost $18 million on administrative functions and the organization had a budgetary excess of $17.7 million.
I don’t fault Susan G. Komen for what they have achieved. There was a time when breast cancer needed the kind of visibility that Komen brought. That time has passed and Susan G. Komen has become a perpetual charity – growing to grow and existing to exist. The organization is more about the status of Pepto pink than it is about breast cancer. And Susan G. Komen is so well funded that it doesn’t need your money.
It’s time to let it go for another year. But by August 2009, Pepto pink will be back and will make all of us nauseous.