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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be highly irritated by this stupid chain mail bollocks about breast cancer?

31 replies

ExquisiteCake · 14/11/2011 19:14

I received this today in my Facebook inbox along with 195 other women.

"Put a heart (♥) on your wall without comment, only a heart. Then send this message to all your friends - only the women. Next, place a heart on the wall of the person who sent this message to you. And if someone asks you why you have so many hearts on your wall, do not reply. This is only for women to remember that this is the week to remember and care about breast cancer. And that we should always think about it. To make a heart, type < with no space and then a 3."

Is it just me, or is this so fucking ridiculous it makes you want to spit? I kindly replied that MEN SUFFER FROM BREAST CANCER TOO and isn't the point of awareness that you actually talk about it and not keep it all quiet....I'm also enraged that the "secret" symbol has to be heart. I think if there were to be a "secret" symbol, which is ludicrous in itself, it should at least be of a breast.

So sick of this girly girly crap of love hearts and pink fluffy feathers. Cancer doesn't come like that and passing this bollocks around doesn't do sod all. Rant over.

OP posts:
StrandedBear · 14/11/2011 19:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Andrewofgg · 14/11/2011 19:19

And indeed men and women suffer from all sorts of cancers. The best sort of awareness is a gift to a cancer-care or a cancer-research charity.

tocha · 14/11/2011 19:23

yanbu.

Original poster
ExquisiteCake · 14/11/2011 19:25

Stranded, yes but I bet women and men weren't checking their breasts.

I don't see what's so bad about saying;

"Cancer is a bastard. Check for abnormalities by raising an arm above your head...etc".

Is it really such a taboo subject that we have to be stupid and girly and giggly about it?

OP posts:
vigglewiggle · 14/11/2011 19:31

There is another one doing the rounds encouraging you to post a spoof status about moving abroad. You must not tell men what it means Hmm.

I'm with you OP. Plenty of good work to be done raising awareness of many forms of cancer, but this is just bollocks!

Original poster
ExquisiteCake · 14/11/2011 19:34

Biscuit Biscuit

BREASTS! CHECK THEM FOR SUSPICIOUS LUMPS.

See that doesn't hurt does it?!

OP posts:
isithometimeyet · 14/11/2011 19:52

Yep. YABER
(you are being entirely reasonable)
But the British aren't very good at death, or illness. The ickle hearts make us feel we're doing something about it when we're doing f all.

DesperatelySeekingSedatives · 14/11/2011 20:06

YANBU I had that stupid message yesterday. ignored it. I always do. Surely a "check ya breasts often girls (and guys) and get anything suspicious checked out immediately!" status would be far more helpful to everyone? Hmm The guys I know wouldn't give a shit and certainly wouldn't think to ask about hearts on your status update!

Original poster
ExquisiteCake · 14/11/2011 20:11

"Women and men are both affected by breast cancer. Check your breasts at least once a month for any abnormalities. Do this by raising your arm above your head and using two fingers to feel from under the arm in a clockwise position until the nipple. The earlier the abnormalities are found the easier it can be to stop it."

I changed my status to this.

It's just so fucking patronising. We're adults, we can say breasts and cancer!

OP posts:
StealthPenguin · 14/11/2011 21:33

To be honest, it makes me want to violently punch anyone who sends the rubbish to me. I made a humungous deal about the pregnancy one that was floating around a few months back and now everyone on my FB friends list knows that, unless they want a diatribe of swearing thrown at them, they keep me well out of it.

It doesn't raise awareness anymore, it's more about "don't let the men in on it"!

As far as I'm concerned, if you want to help then send a tenner to the charity, don't spam my Facebook feeds when one of my friends is going through a dramatic and messy breakup and I can't find her posts for all your rubbish

BeyondTheLimitsOfAcceptability · 14/11/2011 21:36

Want to steal a stat from the thread on a similar vein the other day...

More men die from breast cancer than testicular cancer.

That is all.

Original poster
ExquisiteCake · 15/11/2011 10:22

Oh now beyond, I may be forced to start doing random breast cancer stat statuses (stati?). Merely to piss StealthPenguin off. Grin

OP posts:
StealthPenguin · 15/11/2011 10:29

Don't you start, Cake! I know where you live....... Wink

EnjoyResponsibly · 15/11/2011 10:39

YADNBU

I go all stabby when I get one of these. My BF has fucking hideous, despicable Breast cancer. It ruins lives, it is NOT pink and fluffy.

Please respond to these stupid, vacuous messages thus:

If you REALLY want to do something:

  1. Check yourself
  2. Fork out some cash to research a cure
StealthPenguin · 15/11/2011 11:18

It is bloody well NOT "that time of year again", mainly because it's only been two months since that complete bollocks about pregnancy did the rounds, and it was "that time of year" then as well. Posting some random shit like a heart or a holiday is not the way to raise awareness for breast cancer. It worked once and now all of a sudden I'm being spammed upwards of eight times a year asking me to post some rubbish that I don't want to hear about. It's become a farcical attempt to keep the male population in he dark, and incidentally more men die from breast cancer than from testicular cancer per year.

Women and men are both affected by breast cancer. Check your breasts at least once a month for any abnormalities. Do this by raising your arm above your head and using two fingers to feel from under the arm in a clockwise position until the nipple. The earlier the abnormalities are found the easier it can be to stop it.

If you want to "raise awareness", post this message instead. At least it teaches you something about breast cancer and what the warning signs are. And it isn't some idiotic attempt to confuse people.

^^ My Facebok status, It's gotten a few 'likes' already!

smartyparts · 15/11/2011 11:22

I hate hate hate those bollocky posts on FB, post 'check your breasts today' if you want to heighten awareness.

watfordmummy · 15/11/2011 11:28

But to be fair, you are now discussing this and maybe someone will have checked their breast who wouldn't have. Each to their own Smile

Esta3GG · 15/11/2011 11:29

I hate this bollocks.
Breast cancer took both my tits. It has fucked up my life and killed some very special people in my life.

There is nothing cute, pink or fluffy about it.

Thankfully the number of men with BC is very small by comparison to women - BUT a huge number of men are involved in the diagnosis of BC in their partners. And millions of men are caught up in the shit of this disease - sons, fathers, brothers ....

Only a complete fucking idiot would conceive an awareness scheme that negated the involvement of half the population.

Original poster
ExquisiteCake · 15/11/2011 11:45

Esta I'm sorry for you :(

But yes, absolutely, it isn't a secret to be shared amongst "us girls".

OP posts:
StealthPenguin · 15/11/2011 11:47

I don't like the whole "it's a secret" thing. To raise awareness of something is to talk about it, not to pretend you're pregnant or going on holiday! None of them have anything to do with cancer...

mrskbpw · 15/11/2011 11:49

I completely agree. I had a bit of a rant about the 'change your profile picture to a cartoon character to raise awareness of child abuse' one (HOW?! HOW is that raising awareness? And why do you even have to 'raise awareness' of child abuse? It's not like checking your boobs or wearing a condom. 'Raising awareness has become a catch-all phrase that means nothing, I think. Rant over, sorry.).

I got a few narky comments but I haven't had any more of these silly things since. So it was worth it. I completely think you are not being unreasonable. Not even a teeny, tiny bit.

timidviper · 15/11/2011 11:50

I get sick of the ones that imply that forwarding the email or text raises funds. How? Does a search engine or phone network "sense" these messages and make a donation? I'd like to be wrong but I don't think they do.

sakura · 15/11/2011 11:59

I agree.

IT's almost as if the medical establishment thinks that being female makes you predisposed to cancer

In fact the opposite is true. In the UK bowel cancer is more common than breast cancer, as far as I understand it.

WOmen live longer for a reason: the double X chromozome has more life-preserving cells than the XY chromozome

Over-medicalizing women, or medicalizing women for being female has always been a staple of western society.

Men are treated as adults when it comes to testicular cancer ( or breast cancer: yes it can afflict men too). they are allowed to take it upon themselves to do their own checks.. or not... as they see fit.

[ NOt saying breast cancer isn't a risk, before a billion people jump in accidentally on purpose misunderstanding my point]

sakura · 15/11/2011 12:00

Sorry, bowel cancer is more common than cervical cancer. I'm not sure how it compares to breast cancer.

Cervical cancer... now that's another one

confusedpixie · 15/11/2011 12:02

I've been getting the live abroad ones a lot recently. I never do the repost things but will do the one about how to check your breasts further up the thread.