If I see one more article about another BS claim about what this or that or not this or that has caused breast cancer I may seriously lose my mind. Can we stop blaming breast cancer patients for their illness?

Please do not make someone feel guilty that they have or have not done something wrong to deserve this horrific disease. How about we start talking productively and about ways that we could decrease our risk: by not poisoning our food, polluting our Earth, or working to find a cure.

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Instead, we play the blame game, spending wasteful time on studies that put the fault on the individual diagnosed. Live as clean and genuine life as you possibly can live.

This recent article from the Chicago Tribune is an excellent example of the current problem. Why not report on the number of dollars going to find a cure for a disease that is killing our mothers, sisters, friends, wives, and husbands. Yes, men die from breast cancer too. And 18-year-olds receive a De Novo diagnosis. They will not see a life filled with children, partners, or careers.

It is time this bullshit stops and that we change the conversation. We need to ban together, families, supporters and loved ones. Our voices must get louder, together. We need to save lives. We need to put our dollars where our mouths are and donate to foundations that are not frivolously spending money on "raising awareness" or pink ribbons. Many have a larger marketing budget than research dollars for scientists looking for treatments and a cure. One good group to support is METAvivor. Every penny raised goes to research. Research finds treatments and treatments can change the face of breast cancer.

So yes, I was "young" when I got my diagnosis. And yes, I get to hear this from every single person I tell I have breast cancer. But guess what? I am one of the lucky ones. My odds were the good ones, two out of three. Or I wouldn't get the chance to shout this from the rooftops. One out of three and I would be six feet under just like way, way, way too many of my friends. One out of three to lose my "young" life to a disease that has no cure. And I "caught it early!"

Please, I beg you. I say this because what we are doing is not right. It is not changing the game. It's not productive. But we cannot continue to do it alone, with constituencies full of people diagnosed with Stage IV, the incurable, fatal, catastrophic form of breast cancer. Their average lifespan is only three years. So please get on the METAvivor email list, get updates to write your Congress people, and think of the families that lose someone they love every single day.

Do you think the breast cancer "awareness" conversation needs to change? Should media stop blaming breast cancer patients for their illness?

Featured image: iStock Photo