gargnob - Why is breast cancer getting so much attention?

The subject line was the header of a reader mail in Metro the other day. I thought about it long and hard and figured out the answer. I think it took me about two seconds... In my view it's very simple and straight forward. The reader who sent the mail didn't see the obvious answer I guess?

The mail mentioned that there are other forms of cancer, there are even those that kill more people than breast cancer. Why then is breast cancer getting all the attention?

Let's simplify things for a second. There are two basic groups of people on the planet right now: males and females. Yes, I know about hermaphrodite, that's why I pointed out that this is a simplification. For this blog only. Sorry if it offends anyone.

So, what is the main point about all this breast cancer telethons and charity things? That's right: to raise money. True, they raise awareness as well, but at the end of the day, it's all about the almighty dollar. Researchers NEED money and this is the best way they know how to get it.

That means they need something that grabs peoples attention. Let's face it: if they had done a big gala of the cancer that kills the second highest amount of people in the world, people would turn their TVs off. That's colon cancer, by the way. The ribbon would have to be brown I guess...? It wouldn't work.

Getting back to our two groups, males and females. How do we grab their attention to raise funds for cancer research?

Males: when talking about breast cancer, we're allowed to say the word breasts all we want. The main focus of the whole thing are the breasts. Men are pretty much obsessed with breasts. It's a basic male thing. Any male writing in and saying that they don't care about breasts is a fricking liar. So, talking about breast cancer let's the hormon filled males talk about breasts all they want. If they donate a bit, they can say that they did their share for breasts all over the world. Breasts.

Females: breast cancer VERY rarely kills men. That makes breast cancer an almost exclusive female issue. It's completely wrong to say that only women get it, but most of the time, the patient is a woman. Fear of getting it and fear of dying from it grabs the attention of females.

Does that answer the question? Men are driven by hormones and women by fear. In either case: it gets all the viewer's attention. Attention which can then be used to beg for money. In short: it works. People are donating, researches are getting funding and maybe one day, they will beat cancer! They've only been working on it since 3000 BC when the Egyptian Edwin Smith Papyrus described breast cancer in a patient. Even from the start it has been all about breast cancer, huh? Perhaps the attention towards the breasts has a long standing tradition...

Source: http://gargnob.livejournal.com/168652.html

bryce harper