Discussing Breast Cancer

I pretty much stay away political discussions. But when issues pertaining to battling breast cancer show up in the battle for the presidency, I’ve gotta chime in. Last July I posted about Thompson when he was touting his conviction to find a cure. And now I have to share this with you: making headlines today is the fact that in a recent Ohio primary, the candidates neglected to speak about breast cancer — and that’s an issue identified by 62 percent of Americans as the key health issue facing women today.

I don’t know — is this an issue that needs to be discussed in the primary? Aren’t there more (other?) deadly issues in health care that need consideration? Sure, I want a cure just as much as the next survivor, but I have to think that we’re simply beating up the presidential hopefuls if we get on them for not wearing pink ribbons and talking about what they’ll do to find a cure.

That being said, if they do start talking about what they’ll do in terms of research, I’m all ears … that’s why Thompson caught my attention last year. But the fact that they’re not discussing it, well, that hadn’t been on my radar.

What about you? Do you think the candidates should pink up their campaigns?

Some of you clearly do … check out these statistics compiled by Susan G. Komen for the Cure?

“More than 90 percent of voters want the federal government to pay more attention to breast cancer research, screening and early detection and access to quality care for all. A majority of voters (62 percent) believe breast cancer is the most critical health problem facing women today. But only one in 10 voters is aware of their preferred presidential candidate’s position on issues relating to breast cancer.”

Here’s a link to the Fox News story.

(Oh, and if you didn’t click on the Susan G. Komen link above, you might want to reconsider. It takes you to their web page about breast cancer advocacy in terms of this year’s presidential election — and on that page is a petition that might get this issue on the front of candidates minds, signed by yours truly. Will you sign, too?)

For the record … if one of these candidates started wearing a pink ribbon and talking about their support for the American Cancer Society or Susan G. Komen or the myriad of researchers working to find a cure … they’d probably get my vote.