Gynecological Cancer Awareness Month

September is national gynecological cancer awareness month. Think Peach and Teal (colors representing uterine and ovarian cancer).

I'm really unhappy with the program that was on all 3 networks this past Friday.. StandUp2Cancer. There was NO MENTION of any gyn cancer that I saw. They even had some actor simulate (or maybe it was real) a prostate exam.. not very tasteful in my opinion.. but if they were going to go that far.. why not talk about pap smears and how they can SAVE LIVES!!!

You can email StandUp2Cancer at:

http://su2c.standup2cancer.org/contact.php

or write to them at:

Stand Up To Cancer
1801 W. Olympic Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90006

Be sure and praise them for taking a first step in getting the ball rolling.. but admonish them for leaving a whole section of the cancer spectrum out.

I just don't understand why the difference. Are we still afraid to say the words Vagina, Vulva, Uterus, Cervix, Tubes, Ovaries in mixed company? How are they so different that Prostate or Testicular? Except the later belong to men, and the former to women.. and have been sexualized.

In 2004 (the most recent year for which data are available), approximately 73,000 women in the United States were diagnosed with a cancer affecting the reproductive organs, and approximately 27,000 women died from some form of gynecologic cancer

We talk about Breast and Prostate and Colon cancer without blushing now.. why not talk about Gyn cancers too??

http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/knowledge/