October may be the official month of Breast Cancer Awareness; however, the enormous amount of publicity breast cancer gains through heavy, year-round advertising makes it seem as though this disease is the biggest and sole burden of our society.

And though I believe it’s great to spread awareness about a disease that can affect your mother, your aunt, your sister, your wife and many men, I think the commercialization of breast cancer does very little to spread cancer facts to consumers; in the midst of this ignorant breast cancer mania, we lose sight and awareness of other diseases that also impact and kill Americans on a much greater scale than breast cancer.

Specifically, I believe that Americans choose to donate blindly to a cause they know little about, for the sole reason that the disease is so extensively marketed. 

In the fiscal year 2013, the National Cancer Institute’s total budget was approximately $4.8 billion. Of that, $559 million was put towards breast cancer research. Only $238 million was put towards colon cancer. According to the NCI, a person’s chances of surviving five years with colon/rectum cancer is 64.7 percent. Comparatively, a person’s chances of surviving breast cancer for five years is a whopping 89.2 percent.

Additionally, the chances of surviving five years with ovarian cancer is approximately 44.6 percent — roughly half of breast cancer. And yet, ovarian cancer only received $100 million in the 2013 fiscal year.

In presenting these statistics, I don’t mean to take away from the impact breast cancer has on so many people. Rather, I want to suggest that the degree to which we are informed about other equally or more deadly cancers is unbalanced, and other diseases should receive a similar level of awareness and funding. 

Based on these statistics, colon and ovarian cancers would appear to be very prevalent and problematic; yet, if there are colored ribbons for colon cancer or ovarian cancer, I wouldn’t know. It is not so highly advertised. 

Consider the following “pink ribbon” items you can purchase from Pink Ribbon Shop’s website: Pink shirts, a tiny glass locket, sunglasses, pillows — square and rectangular — paper plates, table cloths, napkins, tote bags, “inspirational word clings” — the list goes on. And on, and on. 

Now let’s extend this to general products. If you step foot inside your local Wal-Mart this month, you’ll find pink cosmetics, pink cartons of yogurt, pink razors, pink handbags, pink bottles of perfumes, pink dog sweaters for your feisty chihuahua, and more. Many of these pink products are stamped with some type that reads, roughly, “for every product we sell, we’ll donate X amount of money to breast cancer research.” 

That’s all. By buying your pink vinyl purse, you’ll have the novelty of feeling great that you’ve given to a cause, and you’ll also be the proud new owner of a flirty handbag. 

The marketing of so many different products only furthers the Pink Ribbon campaign’s commercial success, and, in so doing, misinforms consumers that breast cancer is the deadliest, most pressing form of cancer. 

Why do other forms of cancer not receive this amount of attention?

The Pink Ribbon movement works because it is catchy and marketable. When we buy pink products, we may see ourselves as trendy, charitable and socially aware consumers. We think we’re supporting a really important and warranted cause because the overload of pink products implies that its cause — breast cancer awareness and research — is one worth millions of dollars. 

And we are supporting an important cause; it’s not that breast cancer isn’t a problem, it’s just comparatively not as devastating as other forms of cancer, and the Pink Ribbon movement should be accompanied by equally present types of cancer and disease awareness.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the top five leading causes of death in America are heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke and accidents. 

The excess of pink ribbons we see in October makes it easy to forget the diseases that weren’t so fortunate as to land a catchy marketing scheme.

Carly is a junior in FAA. She can be reached at [email protected].