To its credit, Facebook reversed itself and allowed a British woman to post photo of her chest, post-mastectomy, to the social networking site.
BUT, when it originally removed the photos, which look very much like what I see in the mirror every morning, it labeled them SEXUAL and ABUSIVE.
Huh? What I'm I missing?
The Web is full of porn, and very explicit ads seeking sex partners for all sorts of behavior, behavior that I would probably call abusive, and certainly sexual, but photos of a woman's chest minus one breast?
Anyway, my solution is simple: Let's all of us who can post photos of our own mastectomy scars to the Web. In solidarity with Sharon Adams.
For now, I'll have to post the mosaic that I made out of pink M&Ms as a protest to the M&Ms company selling pink M&Ms every October to profit from breast cancer awareness month, but I'll have a real photo up soon.
Read the story: Facebook
Oh, when you do post a photo, please leave a comment below with the link. Thanks.
Read: M&Ms and Cancer: The Mosaic
See: My Mastectomy Photo
@ Jeanne Sather 2009.
While not the same focus, this reminds me of the recent news (mostly in the blogsphere)garnered by a BC awareness campaign called "Save Second Base." ( www.save2ndbase.com/) .
This year controversy arose at Princeton University ,m where a student group linked their 2nd annual Manicure for A Cure fundraiser for Komen, to the Save Second Base campaign, using that slogan. Their stated idea was to go beyond depicting BC as a women's issue , in order to attract male students through the sexualized connotation.
See the discussion on the Our Bodies, Our Selves blog:
http://tinyurl.com/mdsd8w
and an op-ed in the Daily Princetonian by 3 of the organizers the campaign:
http://tinyurl.com/lmtkox
Posted by: Joana Ramos | May 31, 2009 at 08:47 AM
So I haven't had a mastectomy, no breast cancer, no mets there, etc. My breasts have been affected by the steroids for brain mets, and are striped with stretch marks and hang down to places they'd never been before ... do you think that counts enough? I'll get a picture taken to post (something I never thought I'd do), if it's close enough. It's a different thing, so it might not fit.
Posted by: penelope | May 31, 2009 at 08:58 AM
Penelope--post away! I think the point is to show how our lives and bodies have been affected by cancer, so the stretch marks and etc. certainly qualify. At least in my book.
Another thing you said this morning reminded me of something: I weigh 25 lbs. more now than I did when I was first diagnosed with cancer, but the image everyone seems to have of us cancer patients is that we are bone-thin. But most of the women I know who've been living with advanced cancer or metastatic disease are on the heavy side. Deb was too, after treatment for leukemia ... Has anyone else noticed this?
Posted by: jeanne Sather | May 31, 2009 at 12:30 PM
*cue refrain about freakin' Decadron*
Posted by: Amorette | May 31, 2009 at 04:12 PM
From Penelope, whose computer won't let her leave a comment:
I did it. There's more of me that I'm sharing than I thought, but especially after my daughter's comment, which I included, I figured I might as well.
http://natureschain.wordpress.com/2009/05/31/cancer-pictures/
Posted by: jeanne Sather | June 01, 2009 at 08:23 AM
i am very proud of you. women should feel good about their bodies. showing your masectomys will cause other women to be aware of checking their breasts for cancer, it will save lives. dont hide away, that just makes cancer stronger, you go girls. im not sure how to get my pics on here, when i figure it i will. all the best with your lives and the future.x sharon adams.
Posted by: sharon adams | June 04, 2009 at 11:28 AM