hello
an interesting thread, this. I agree that we are talkig about a range of different issues - in terms of being sensitive or over sensitive, I don’t know anyone with bc who feels uncomfortable or is unhappy about other people having issues with their breasts (I have enough body image issues myself to feel unable to comment on that one), the salient issue was about KP who many did not see as an appropriate person to represent the campaign. The other issue is about the ‘tickled’ element, which cause distress to a number of us who are terminally ill with bc and are bringing up children and supporting families who face the loss of them because of it. It must be so hard to take - I just cannot imagine it.
Its good that ASda want to talk to people with bc and its great that they raise money to enable bcc to support us. Most of us on here will have raised money in some way and also have appreciated the support from bcc, not least in terms of using this forum.
For me, the issue of respect and integrity is important, and I hope that in future Asda campaigns (and others) will be more mindful of what the psychological impact (sorry can’t think of a better way to put it) is for people that the campaign is set up to support. I hope we all live long enough to see it.
I watched thr programme with my 12 year old daughter and I started the original thread due to her crass comments and gestures which disgusted both of us.
I also thought of my friend who died earlier this year (one boobed as secs came too quickly for recon) and wondered if her 12 year old daughter was watching too.
I’m not over sensitive and sadly not shocked at her latest comments.
Our concerns on the original thread have been shown to be true, she wasn’t passionate about the charity, otherwise she would still have donated and aplogised in her column.
When Jade Goody died the papers were full of facts and petitions because a young death shocked the nation, how many deaths from BC and how many are young deaths and we are represented as “tickled” with pictures of pink fluffy wigs!!! (the pink bow I find acceptable just like simple daffodil for macmillan).
Yes I appreciate fundraising, but why a month and why so much over priced tacky merchandise?? I personaly feel sold out to the big supermarket giants and z listers wanting to boost free publicity and profits.
Debbie
I saw pink toilet paper in the store last week.
To Debsincornwall
I too think the name “Tickled Pink” is totally inappropriate and downright offensive. I watched you on TV and thought you came across extremely well.
Hi
I’m actually pleased this has been bought up again.I sent a comment to the origonal thread last month but BCC admin wouldnt let it go live because i disagreed with the majority and they were concerned that having a different view would stir up trouble in what was a very heated thread.I felt hugely under-represented,as a breast cancer sufferer, in the thread ,because only a very one-sided ‘view’ was really voiced.I felt very sad that if anyone who had donated to the campaign,or Asda employees who had helped raise money, read the thread they would wonder why they had bothered.
Having said that,i totally appreciate that we all have our own personal views and we all deal with the emotions of breast cancer in our own ways so i am in no way saying that anyones views are ‘wrong’.I just feel that it is very important that a balanced viewpoint is put forward which i’m pleased has come across in this thread.
Anyway,i would like to say that i have no problem with the ‘tickled pink’ campaign name.I’m not sure if this is correct but my friend said it was called that because the origonal product that was sold was a pink feather (like the pink ribbon).
I have bought ‘pink’ products before and NEVER did i think whilst buying them that the disease itself was 'pink and fluffy’or that anyone would be ‘tickled pink’ if diagnosed with breast cancer.What i DID think was that here was a product that i liked and would use and that by buying it i was donating to a worthwhile cause.
In my view ,in order to reach the maximun number of people, and raise the maximun awareness of breast cancer, a varierty of fundraising approaches are required,Asda has chosen to use a lighthearted approach whereas other fundraising events may use a more serious approach.I am well aware that Asda is ,of course,making money from selling these products and raising their own profile when fundraising ,but for me ,i just accept that this is part of big business.
Having looked on their website and seen where the £20 million already raised,has gone,i feel incredibly grateful.Who knows,perhaps the treatment i am recieving at the moment is a result of this vital research.
I do agree with the majority however,that KP was a particularly poor choice of represenative for the campaign.
Well,they are my veiws.Again,let me stress that i am in no way dismissing other peoples veiws but i do think its very important that this is a balanced discussion.
K xx
Well said. I agree with your comments and thoughts. I attempted to post views at the time and they did not appear on the forum, probably because they would have offended the majority of people who use this site. You have voiced exactly what I felt when the campaign against Tickled Pink and KP started. As a breast cancer sufferer, it is not the name of these pink campaigns or celebrities fronting them that worries me - it is staying alive and tackling this disease head on so that other women don’t have to face the awful fear of this horrible disease. When my mam died in 1989 we had no support from charities or outside organisations. Breast cancer was basically a dirty word which was spoken about in hushed whispers not only in our world but also in the celebrity world. Testicular cancer and bowel cancer are still not spoken about in the open forum - and from speaking with people who have suffered these diseases, basically it is lack of awareness and embarrassment.
The Tickled Pink campaign is targetting young females in the age range 14-25 to make them more breast aware. Women do talk about their breasts in an open forum and are aware about checking themselves. If the Tickled Pink campaign saves one life then in my view it has been a success.
I realise this is not the view of the majority. But I do feel quite strongly that instead of being worried about names and people we should be concentrating our efforts on saving lives and making it a hell of lot easier for the next generation.
To KMS
I find it really hard to believe that BCC wouldn’t post your comments. Reading your post, you have very valid views to make and they don’t seem inflammatory or offensive in the least. There are always many different views and opinions to any issue and they should always be heard, otherwise what is the point of having a public forum? I am sure that most people on this forum want to uphold the right to freedom of speech as long as it abides with the regulations.
I have to agree with the above two posts, I think there has to be a balanced viewpoint put across and whilst I wholeheartedly agree that everyone is affected differently by this terrible disease we do need to be reminded that without the openness the pink campaigns have brought to Breast Cancer we may all be now talking in hushed tones and not able to share how we feel on such a great forum as this one.
I am not saying we should be grateful for funds raised by any means possible, KP should have had a little more decorum and thought a bit more about what she said, but thats KP for you, she was not the most inspired choice, and now to say that she will not donate anything because she has been pulled from the campaign is so typically characteristic of her as a person. We should not even be surprised at her reaction. KP is who she is and we should not allow her to make us feel any worse than we all ready do about this disease.
I think we just need to keep things in perspective and look at all the good work being done with all the money donated. I have bought things in the past to support the campaign, not because I thought it was represented as a PINK and Fluffy disease, but so that should I ever need help it may well be there. Thank goodness I did! I do need the help and am gratefull for the support of thousands of others who have donated by what ever means.
I am sorry if these views upset anyone it is not my intention.
Dena
I feel extreamly shocked and upset that BCC have effectively gagged other peoples views on the original thread, What sort of site is this? this action to me is no different than editing a tv program to put across a one sided view, i thought this site was here for everyone affected by breast cancer if we dont agree cant we have a voice too? I am fed up of the politicly correct attitude here sometimes it feels like we all are walking on eggshells if we dare to speak out.
Can we have some answers please BCC as to why you think others views are any less valid or important ?
AS i said in my first post , i dont think KP was the right choice to campagne for TIckled PInk and i understand why people thought she was not appropriate includeing myself, but i believe no victory has been won here ,at the end of the day we have lost vital funds, Yes last year she only gave £16,000 ,never the less its £16,000 it counts? her now withdrawing sales money has lost BC funding £30,000 that was what her donation was this year. KP apoligised for her flippent comments which she made dureing filming the campagne and whether people think she was genuine or not she accepted she spoke without thinking of the way others might interpretate them, but the apoligy wasnt accepted. KP is not the most intellegent person in the word and i think we all know that but i am sure we have all made stupid comments in our lifetime which may have caused upset to others.
I agree with the comments " what did we expect " of course when KP was dropped the money went with her, and i also believe that the way in which it was handled was wrong. A lot of the comments towards KP came across as personal slagging offs name calling Bimbo, Barbie ect . If i was her and id recieved personal comments like that i wouldnt be donateing my money either. To win in any situation , it needs to be done in a balanced grown up way not resorting to insults of a personal nature which were there for the world to see whatever you think of someone. Im sorry, but to me most of the thread came across as a KP Hate Campagne,and it proberly did too to many others, yes ,we won the battle but we didnt win the fight, weve lost her sales money or more to the point BCC and Breast cancer campagne have lost the money £30,000 ,and it is very unlikely that she will ever be interested in donateing again.
This is a very emotive subject everyones view will differ on what we all find offensive or not but i do agree most of us are over sensitive when it comes to breast cancer and how it affects OUR life but not everyone is walkiing this road and we have to allow for that, I hope Asda and everyone who will be getting invoved in future campagnes are able to move forward now so these problems dont arise in the future.
BCC, I have my own view on things, and it seems im not alone with them, i truely respect all other peoples too ,although they sometimes differ to mine and would hope that i and others who may disagree on any topic be given the same oppertunity to air them , because If some of us are to be" hussed up" then this site will cease to become a support to me.
Hi
I should point out that after my post was origoanlly stopped from going ‘live’ BCC admin did eventually say it could.However there was a delay on the admin side and a delay on my side opening my emails because i was on my chemo week so by the time this was all agreed things had all gone quiet on the origonal thread so i felt it was pointless.
I’m very pleased this discusiion was bought up again so that i could put my point forward.
I must say both me and my husband were very suprised (and furious actually) that my post was stopped.I was fully prepared for the fact that i might experience some ‘straight talking feedback’ to my views but hey,thats the point of discussion forums!
Its been very heartening to read this thread and see that i wasnt the only person to think differently.
thanks. K xx
Lindiloo
I can understand your concerns about the loss of Katie Price’s donation, but if you look at the bigger picture, it may not seem that bleak and all the publciity raised by this may have actually helped promote the charity? She was a poor choice, not just for someone to front a breast cancer campaign, but also because she, by her own admission, is not well accepted by the general public at the moment because of her personal life, so I am surprised Asda wanted her at all and perhaps the BCC furore just brought things to a head and Asda were going to sack her anyway? If she had remained, do you think it may well have deterred donators who didn’t want to be associated with KP? We actually don’t know who donates money, but there are some very wealthy people and companies out there who may well do so and could have been put off. So whereas it seems a great pity that money has been lost, it may in the long term be a wise judgement - just my thoughts. I don’t think whoever does represent the charity needs to have breast cancer themselves, but perhaps reflect a more sincere and sensitive image?
By the way, I think Katie Price, far from being unintelligent, is a very shrewd business woman. She has the bimbo-esque image, but she has managed to make millions and hasn’t got to where she is (or was, perhaps) by being oversensitive to the public’s comments.
Hi Kms,
Im pleased that you have now been able to put your point forward , im Gobsmacked that any forum member should not be able to express their view just because it may differ from others. What happened to freedom of speech?
Hope BCC can give us some answers as to why they felt it was nessessary to do this.
Love Lindiloo x
Hi
There are some very different views and thoughts on this thread and it is very interesting to read your posts.
I just wanted to add something. I watched Cathy’s interview on BBC Breakfast (which was excellent by the way) and she made it clear in that interview that we weren’t “Katie bashing” but we were genuinely upset by the comments she made when doing the breast cancer shoot. She accepted KP’s apology graciously too.
I am not too upset by the whole pink thing but I know a lot of bc sufferers are. I didn’t think KP was a good choice for breast cancer awareness but I just accepted it until I heard the comments she made on her programme. I think they were out of order.
Love
Maude xx
ps Lindiloo. Good point about KP not being such a bimbo after all. My mum used to say a comment that someone famous said (think it was Liberace but you are all far too young to remember him!). He used to say “I cried all the way to the bank”.
Hello,
Well her comments in that column at least make it crystal clear that her donation of 30k was actually not a donation at all but just a tactic to buy herself some flattering publicity.
She has got to be the most egotistical, self-centred ‘donor’ ever - to take back her donation because she can’t handle criticism just shows how totally insincere and ungenerous she really is. She didn’t donate to help Breast Cancer Care but to promote herself.
I’m quite sure there are plenty of wealthy people who donate large sums to bcc and other charities anonymously, because they genuinely want to help. KP only wanted publicity. Given her unthinking antics on camera, perhaps it’s a function of karma that the publicity is turning out to be negative for her. Fine!
Hello again,
I just reread the column and realised it may be just some percentage of undie sales she’s decided to give elsewhere, not the 30k. Either way, same result: her ‘generosity’ is measured by what she hopes to gain from it.
Hi everyone
Maude, thanks so much for your comment (yes it was me on the ‘red sofa’ talking about the KP issue!!). I was keen to get across that this was NOT a hate campaign against KP and I stressed that she had apologised and that this should be noted. I was hardly going to waste my ‘5 minutes’ knocking a celebrity where there’s a chance to raise awareness. Another point I made in the interview was that it wasn’t just the comments (crass as they were) that KP made but also, if she was expressing negativity about her own scarred t*ts (and bear in mind we’re talking about a glamour model here), then how are ‘normal’ women like us supposed to accept our bodies etc when the message that ‘scarred t*ts’ are unacceptable is broadcast by a model who is ‘all about t*ts’?! I don’t think women with BC who were offended are being over sensitive. I think that a lot of humour gets used because we are dealing with breasts ‘boobies’ ‘tits’ ‘jugs’ ‘bangers’ etc and sure there is an element of humour but surely a little bit of respect wouldn’t go amiss (ASDA have at least shown some by dropping the photos). Like many others, I’m ‘tough’ enough to let comments like this go over my head but not everyone is and personally I’m far more concerned about the feelings of BC sufferes who have been offended than KP (and no, that does not mean I hate her - I don’t!)
The other thread was NOT a KP hate campaign - on reading ALL the comments, this is quite clear - it was more the choice of who was ‘fronting’ it. Yes there was some ‘steam’ let off and frankly, I don’t blame those that did.
I think the best thing that’s come out of this is the offer for us to get involved in future campaigns and work with, say, ASDA. That has to be great news and as has been said on here, at least this issue has gone some way to raise awareness so can’t all be bad. Maybe some of us will agree to differ but let’s save any anger for this damn disease!
Lots of love to all. Cathy x
Thanks Cathy,
You have been fabulous.
Julie x
Hi there
My new identity - for some reason cannot get “in” with my original personna - Lizzie - with the horses! Yes, the one who ran a Pink Day complete with a pony in pink legwarmers…and raised, relatively, a credible amount of money. Especially when compared to the KP ?16K ?30K, depending on the latest press release!
Lots been said - rightly so, that is what these forums are all about. But, surely - whilst we have degrees of disagreement around the detail - this surely has to be a situation where we can actually, as a group, have a pretty massive feeling of “Job Well Done”?
Can’t remember (sorry!) who first brought this to the intention of the site - but, the original point was - Extremely unnecesary tasteless, tactless comments about “scarred tits”. Bad enough, in ANY context - but, hey - no! this was part of a photoshoot to draw attention to BC!! Wrong - in every way.
We can all have our personal views about KP - but that is NOT why we reacted. Yes, it was a wrong choice by ASDA, but, even at that, we would maybe have grumbled a bit - …and not taken it any further.
It was the reality of that photoshoot - which, at the end of the day - was part of a programme that KP endorsed and presumably thought showed her in a good light…
And fair play and a massive Thanks to Debs, Kathy et al - who made the point so very very well - on National TV. And achieved a huge result - ASDA dropped KP.
For the right reasons - and now she has “withdrawn her support” (however much it actually was) shows she was never committed to the cause anyway.
We are, as a group of women, who just so happen to have come together on a website, for an unfortunate reason, SO much better than the Jordan/KPs of the world. Money is raised for BC research all the time, and, yes, every penny adds up. But, for me - I would rather NOT have the money from KP - it wasn’t ever going to be donated for the right reasons - it was just to buy her more publicity.
Really feel that we should actually “agree to disagree” over the fine detail here - and see this as a really brilliant result, driven initially by a few people, and taken up by a like minded group who are just wanting the whole BC disease arena to be treated by the media with respect.
The “pinkness” - we probably have to live with - and I feel we all have various degrees of tolerance to that! - it DOES raise money - we agree the money is needed…but not by trivialing the reality of BC.
Am I sitting on a fence? Maybe. - but just don’t think this is something we should fall out amongst ourselves about - we are surely all on the same side here - and that’s what makes us a strong force to be reckoned with.
Take care, all
Lizzie XX
Just to put Katie Price’s donation of £16000 into context- that is n’t even £1 for each woman who is diagnosed each year with breast cancer. My car which is 3 years old that I have to have to be able to do my job (and that I’m still paying for) cost me £13000. I’m not impressed by Katie Price’s donation or her attitude to give her money to another charity- presumably one that will allow her to promote herself and fawn all over her in the process. She appears more interested in salving her own ego than in genuinely helping other people. Like any other porn star, she has got where she is by one means- selling herself and everything associated with her, including her children. I looked at the Asda site today. Commonly £1-2 from their TP sales goes to BC Care with the remaining £4-6 pounds going straight to Asda as profit. If I want to give £6 (or whatever) to any cancer charity, I will give the whole amount to the charity rather than allow someone in the middle to take thier cut. I’m not “politically correct” but I do object to someone trivialisiing a life threatening disease and I do object to any type of cancer being fronted by a porn star. In my view being politically correct is allowing people like KP to call themselves “glamour models” when they really make thier living through what used to be known as soft porn.I wrote to Asda to ask them why they call their mastectomy bras “post surgery” bras, a name that causes confusion, evidenced by a work colleague who thought they were for people who had had a cosmetic “boob” job. Is this confusion because of the Katie Price link? Who knows. Again, I feel thier choice of name for this bra triviliases BC surgery and Asda need to review their approcah. I’m not ashamed or embarressed by my surgery so why should it be dressed up as somehting else?