Why I Didn't Dine or Race for the Breast Cancer Cure This Weekend

. . . And What You and I Can Do to Fight Breast Cancer Humanely Instead

Some friends and acquaintances and even a local paper for which I write a column all took part in Susan G. Komen Foundation fundraising events this weekend, dining out at specified restaurants on Friday and attending a race on Saturday, all to raise money for breast cancer research. I wasn't a participant. I also haven't been a participant in or donor to the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life in several years. And the latter especially is not a decision I make lightly.

When I was a very active fifteen-year-old, my county's chapter of the American Cancer Society invited me to help out on their board, and soon enough, I was maintaining the scrapbook, helping organize the Relay for Life, writing newspaper articles and press releases, aiding with Daffodil Days, and at one point, going into a middle school to talk to (and admittedly, scare) some kids about tobacco use. I spent four or so years on the board, with people I quickly grew to love and respect. It was a family of sorts, and it wasn't just about raising money that went to the larger organization; it was also about spreading awareness and providing support, emotional and practical both, to local patients and survivors. And I wrote my first feature/human-interest newspaper story as a part of my work with ACS. My senior year of high school, I sat at the kitchen table of a fellow board member--a breast cancer survivor--and cried with her as she shared her difficult story with me, so that I could share it with others.

So not supporting the American Cancer Society and Susan G. Komen and some other cancer organizations is not a decision I came to without thought, without some sadness. But it is also not without sadness that I think of their work--because although the organizations may be focused on helping humans, they do so at the expense of nonhuman animals; the Susan G. Komen Foundation and the ACS both fund cruel research on animals. (And I'm not sure about active campaigns by other animal rights, animal welfare, and anti-vivisection groups, but I do know that PETA continues to campaign to get Susan G. Komen Foundation to stop funding animal research; see more info here.)

Those who care about advancing the fight for a cure for--and prevention of--breast cancer and who also care about animals have other options for their donations of time and money, organizations that refuse to fund inhumane and ineffective animal research (instead putting their research money toward better and more humane research methods). Among them are the Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade (yes, that Avon), the American Breast Cancer Foundation, the Breast Cancer Fund, the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation, and an effort of the first and the last of these: the Love/Avon Army of Women. This latter effort is unique and innovative, by the way, and offers you a chance to do more than just donate money.

Here's a brief overview of the Love/Avon Army of Women from the About page:

The Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation and the Avon Foundation for Women, a global leader in breast cancer research, joined forces to launch the Love/Avon Army of Women.

Our revolutionary initiative has two key goals:

• To recruit one million healthy women of every age and ethnicity, including breast cancer survivors and women at high-risk for the disease, to partner with breast cancer researchers and directly participate in the research that will eradicate breast cancer once and for all.
• To challenge the scientific community to expand its current focus to include breast cancer prevention research conducted on healthy women.

Join us in this movement that will take us beyond a cure by creating new opportunities to study what causes breast cancer—and how to prevent it.

Sounds like it has a hell of a lot more promise than torturing mice and monkeys, doesn't it? Join up. To find other humane charities (including other cancer-related charities), use the Humane Charity Seal of Approval site hosted by Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, where you can search for charities according to category and/or geographic area or view the entire list of approved charities.

And if you still want to participate in a walk/race for breast cancer a la the Susan G. Komen race, Avon has you covered there too: go here to see if there's an Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in your area.

Helping women doesn't have to involve experimenting on and killing animals. Please support charities that recognize that.