Waiting for the end of Pinktober

At the beginning and end of September I asked all to take a pledge to avoid pinkification and wasting money on pink things that do not help cancer research. It is still not too late to take the pledge for 2013.

I (state your name [and not the Animal House version]) promise that during the month of Pinktober, formerly known as October, I will not arbitrarily purchase pink items or donate to pink causes with out first researching how much actually goes to breast cancer research or screening services. 

I will first research them using services such as Charity Navigator (www.charitynavigator.org) to ensure they are legitimate.

I also promise that I will not support pinkification efforts to paint things pink, light up buildings in pink, or other such activities.

Thank you.

Today is the second to last day of Pinktober, formerly known as October. Did you research causes to ensure they were legitimate? Did you arbitrarily purchase pink items?

Its not too late. You have 36 hours or so to still make a difference without being pink. If you did help in pinkification, now is your chance to take a step back and reevaluate what you did so you will not repeat again next year.

You may think I am being redundant here but I do feel strongly about this. Ridiculous amounts of money are spent on cancer awareness causes, of which Pinktober contains the worst, that are unnecessary.

What is necessary is money for cancer research. I do not think anyone ever the age of 10 living in US, Canada, and Northern Europe who is not aware of cancer these days. We have all 'been there, got the t-shirt'. And cancer still has no cure, along with many other diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Cystic Fibrosis, diabetes, and more.

Skip the awareness, skip the t-shirt, and help with research.

Please take a moment to reflect on your contributions to pinkification this year and see how you could change your efforts next year to help with research instead of another t-shirt.

Victory in the Supreme Court

I have always wondered how Myriad Genetics was able to patent the two BRCA genes. I always thought it was a little funny because they are essentially a body part. Now the Supreme Court has agreed (9-0) that genes cannot be patented as they are naturally occurring.

Its about time.

Patents are awarded for inventions and new ways of making things. So I never understood how Myriad Genetics could own the genes. They had the market cornered on the BRCA tests and charging $3300 for the test. Even though most insurance companies pay for it, this overcharge is just another way that insurance costs are paying for vastly inflated prices.

This will also impact the biotech industry as they develop new gene sequencing techniques and it should open up genomics as researchers don't have to worry about infringing on another's patented gene.

This has been a long awaited decision that received very little press. It did make the front page of the newspaper in biotech happy Boston but I couldn't find it on CNN.

I call this progress and can actually agree with the Supreme Court on this decision.

Wow another 'day'!

Another ailment means I 'get' another day! My social calendar is filling up!

So what the hell am I supposed to do on these days? Am I supposed to wear a special color, make a sign, go to some event, tell everyone about my ailments?

I am confused. What do these days, weeks, months mean anyway? I know they are supposed to build awareness but are they just marketing opportunities. Take Pinktober for example. We don't want that to happen to every day, week, and month of the year. There should be something more to them.