Hypocrisy for the Cure?

Harriet Jacobs’ and Frederick Douglass’ critiques of Southern religious hypocrisy are some of the most moving and upsetting passages in their books. In the appendix of his book, Douglass quotes Mattew 23.4-28: “All their works they do for to be seen of men…But woe unto you…hypocrites! For ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in” (77).

His entire chapter, but especially this quote, reminded me of a discussion I had in another class about the way breast cancer awareness and fundraising are handled in this country. One of the biggest fundraising and research organizations for breast cancer is the Susan G. Komen foundation. Until this discussion, I hadn’t questioned whether this organization was doing a lot of good, but now I do. The board is apparently staffed mostly by representatives from major pharmaceutical companies and corporations like Avon and Cadillac. This is problematic for two reasons: first the pharmaceutical companies push their own breast cancer treatments in order to make the maximum profit. This includes Tamoxifen, which is being studied as a preventative treatment. In the drug trials, healthy women are given this drug and monitored to see if they develop breast cancer. While Tamoxifen, which interrupts/slows estrogen production (a major cause of breast cancer), is affective as a treatment, it’s suspect as a preventative measure for two reasons: 1. It sells arguably unnecessary medicine to healthy women (it’s not a vaccine, like Guardasil); 2. It has been known to cause cervical cancer (how’s that for irony!).

The problem with having corporations like Avon and Cadillac on the board is that they are both producers of cancer causing chemicals—Cadillac through emissions, Avon through things like parabens and philates in their products, which are absorbed through women’s skin. 80% of cancers are estimated to have environmental rather than genetic causes. This means they could be prevented if the pollutants weren’t floating around. Companies like Avon and Cadillac contribute to this dangerous pollution. Having them on the board means that they ultimately push policies that represent their own commercial interests rather than the interests of people who could potentially get cancer—they focus on treating it once it has happened, not fixing their own policies in order to prevent it. It’s extremely hypocritical. Like the supposedly religious slave holders, who went to church every Sunday and then brutalized their slaves every other day, these companies put on a virtuous face while acting in a way that is anything but.

Just as a side note: the Susan G. Komen foundation has copyrighted the phrase “for the cure” and is suing groups that use it to raise money for other causes. Recently, they sued a small town, I think in Alaska, that conducted a “Mush (dogsled race) for the Cure.” They’re putting money that could be used for breast cancer research into suing small towns. Plus their board of directors is suspect. If you want to give money for breast cancer research, I’d suggest Breast Cancer Action, a grassroots group that isn’t compromised by corporate interests and that actually wants to cure and prevent cancer, as opposed to treating it for a profit.