"Price Tag ... "

"Seems like everybody's got a price,
I wonder how they sleep at night.
When the sale comes first,
And the truth comes second,
Just stop for a minute and Smile

It's not about the money, money, money
We don't need your money, money, money
We just wanna make the world dance,
Forget about the price tag"

~ Jessie J ~ Price Tag ~

***

Well October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and brace yourselves ... this post may be a bit of a rant ... You see, everywhere I look there is a constant reminder ~ from PINK window displays in the shops, to magazines that have been taken over by the pink industry, to pink lids on bottled water, pink cookie packaging in the supermarket ... even pink ribbons on bathroom tissue packages ~ just bombarded with "help us find a cure".

Now, I am all for raising your awareness, hence why I blog as much as I do ... because when you are aware of an issue, you can try to solve it ~ real simple.  Yet what troubles me is the "help us find a cure"  part associated with the monies raised.  You see the marketing strategists for the pink ribbon campaign are absolute geniuses, as they touch all avenues, calling on us to donate to rid this horrid dis-ease.  But from my research, the whole campaign is not what it appears to be.  The money is suppose to help find a cure for breast cancer by the pharmaceutical industry.  But the Big Pharma has a really bad track record in the "war on cancer" ... over 30 years and hundreds of billions of dollars later ... they have increased the survival rate over fives years for major cancers by ~ 2% with chemotherapy.  And the cancer rate has gone from approximately 1 in 100 in the early 1900's to 1 in 2 or 3 today.  Just think about that for a moment ... does this resemble anything like a "cure"??  The monies raised in the pink ribbon campaign are  spent on more "cutpoisonburn" therapies ... for every one person that has cancer, 3 people make money because from diagnosis to either remission or death, the average cost for conventional treatment for a cancer patient is $350,000.  And if you don't believe me, just click on the link of CutPoisonBurn movie and watch the Navarro families battle to cure their child of brain cancer ... it will seriously break your heart.

And what I find incredibly offensive about the whole pink ribbon drive for donations is that they are exploiting the generosity of good hearted, kind people who believe that the cancer industry is doing all they can to find a cure.  Little do they know that there are many successful treatments and cures, like the Gerson Therapy, but this type of treatment has been harshly suppressed, proclaimed as "quackery" while mutilating, burning and poisoning treatments are given preference in a world run by corporate greed.  There is no other option given to patients - I was not given any other options.  I was told I would die in less than 5 years if I didn't follow what they presented to me.  I was terrified and rushed to make a decision, sign paperwork even before I could question the effectiveness of the treatment presented.

As I have said this to friends and family, I am not here to tell you what type of treatment is right for you .. I am here to share my story, my choice, and my journey thus far.  There are no guarantees and every single person has the right to make a decision that resonates with them.  Knowledge is power my friends.  What does make me sad is when the decision you make is not affordable.  You are on your own with no financial support.  Presently, we have two friends from the Gerson clinic that have had fundraisers set up so that they can continue with alternative treatments.  

So, why is it that once you accept the traditional, conventional treatment, most of your treatment in this country is covered?  Why is it when I decide on alternative treatments it is out of my pocket?

For the record, here is a breakdown of some of the costs we have endured during the last 7 months on the Gerson Therapy:

One Time: Flights to clinic = $1,500

One Time Gerson Clinic stay = $16,500

One Time cost of Norwalk juicer = $3,000

Monthly Gerson medication $500

Monthly Homeopath medications = $50

Monthly Traditional medications = $500

Monthly massage, reiki, TCM treatments = $500

Monthly cost of organic food = $1,200

*Therapy averages a minimum of 18 months and upwards to 3 years for some

The time has come for us to demand co-operation between conventional and natural practitioners ~ to assist the patient in reducing side effects, reducing the stress and reducing the financial burden after their treatment of choice.  I have yet to see any pink ribbon campaign for greater funds to help close this gap and carve a pathway for cancer patients to be given FULL disclosure of all the options available.  Unfortunately, the only language that the corporate world understands is money, but if people become aware of the deception and greed driving these campaigns, they can choose to spend their dollars on health education and dis-ease prevention.

Become informed, practice preventative natural medicine, get involved, seek answers ... you will be giving yourself the best opportunity of living healthfully ~ with or without a pretty pink ribbon.