it's time to think teal

I say: "pink" you say: _____?

Panther?  Flowers?

No.

I bet 99.9% of you would say "breast cancer."

I say: "teal" you say _____?

::crickets::

Exactly.

Pink is automatically associated with breast cancer.  Teal is automatically associated with nothing.

During the month of October, I couldn't get away from seeing pink everywhere - in bars, in restaurants, at work and even on the jerseys of the Philadelphia Eagles football team.  Even as I type this, I realize that certain things on my blog are pink and I hate it.  I'm starting to despise the color because of how well branded it is with breast cancer.

What about all of the other types of cancers that are out there?

Did you know that the pancreatic cancer color is purple?  How many people do you know who had pancreatic cancer?

Did you know that cervical cancer is nearly 100% preventable if detected and treated early enough?  Did you know you can get HPV from heavy petting?!?!

I am proud to say I am a cervical cancer survivor.  A survivor.  That means I battled through intensive radiation and chemo therapy and survived.  That means I fought for my life and beat the odds.  That means I now have a story to tell, and a reason to care.  I'm starting to learn that there are very few people in this world (whom I've met) that actually care about my story.  Now granted, I haven't told my story to every person I've met, but I have been outed in Shape and Glamour magazine over the summer (and if you missed my article, well shame on you!).

Being an advocate for a disease like this isn't easy.  One hard truth is that I can't force people to care; they have to care on their own.  I can't force people to attend my fundraisers or donate money; they have to do it willingly.  I'm working so hard to raise awareness but most days I feel like I'm failing.  Most days I feel like the fundraisers we hold just aren't good enough because we aren't raising hundreds of thousands of dollars and hundreds of thousands of women aren't coming out every year to walk for our cause.

I raise awareness for this because when I was diagnosed at the age of 23, I knew very little about HPV and cervical cancer.  All I knew was that women get HPV from having sex.  I raise awareness for this because I want to educate the public on how important it is for women to get tested and checked every year; I want men to know that they are the reason why women get HPV.  I want people to know that it's OK to talk about what's happening below the waist - it's OK to stand up and tell your story.  How can we possibly raise awareness for cervical cancer if no one wants to talk about it?  How can we raise awareness for this if no one cares about it?

Yet, everyone seems to care about breast cancer.  Everyone seems to donate $5 to Susan Komen and her yearly Mother's Day walks.  Everyone seems to be OK with talking about breast cancer.

When it comes down to it - cancer is cancer.  No matter how you look at it, no matter what part of the body it's located, it's still deadly.  So why does breast cancer trump cervical cancer?  Why is prostate cancer starting to trump testicular cancer?

I'm making it my life to eradicate cervical cancer because I truly believe that no other woman should ever endure the physical and emotional pain that I went through.  I believe in making a difference and saving another woman's life.

And that life I save?  Well, it could be your sister's or your mother's or your best friend's.

Or maybe, just maybe, it could be your own.

"The saddest thing in the world is wasted talent.  You can have all the talent in the world, but if you don't do the right thing, nothing happens.  But when you do it right, good things happen."

- A Bronx Tale -