Guest Post By Melissa Jansen
There’s a big party going on and only 1 in 8 women get to go. Nobody knows how to get a ticket but everyone knows only the lucky ones get to go. Everyone spends all their time and energy trying to figure out what they have to do to be special enough to get a ticket. Everyone wants to be at the party.¹
You get a ticket! Only 1 in 8 get to go and you a LUCKY girl! You get to the party and right as you get through the door you feel FREE.² You meet a ton of amazing women, they are all cool as fly like you. We sure are a bunch of special, bad-ass bitches is what you all think. All the women feel amazing to know each other, they are bonding and giving each other “props” and “high-fives” they made it. Yes, they did. They are feeling FREE!
Suddenly the worst thing happens…A deranged gunman kicks down the door and is wielding a weapon that can shoot and kill you.³
Suddenly you and your friends feel duped. Why didn’t anyone tell us that 1 in 3 of the people in the party were going to get shot and eventually killed by the gunman? All the women start calling relatives and friends and they all rush to the scene and are watching from the outside.
The professionals already at the scene4 and doing their best to keep everyone (both inside and out) calm. They know all the statistics but are there to just keep the crowds at bay. They’ve seen this type of party before and hope is about all that helps them continue to function on the job. They continue to assure everyone things will be okay.
Inside the party the scene is thick with stress and emotion. Some are choosing to ignore the gunman hoping he’s not real. Some have no idea that his weapon is packed with Stage IV. Others are doing all they can to avoid getting hit. Some women beg for to the gunman “shoot me!” in order to save some of their new friends. Some of these women have small children and can’t afford to die.
Outside the crowds are shouting to the people inside “You need to change your diet, become vegan and he can’t get you” and “You need to exercise to lower your risk of reoccurrence” or “But you got the best kind of cancer – it can’t kill you” still others are shouting “I bought that awareness shirt to help the cause!” People are now setting up booths with pink merchandise for people to wear in support of their friends inside. It doesn’t help any 5 but it makes others “aware” of what’s going on. All that pink makes a lot of people feel good.
Inside the women only just start noticing the ones who were already there when they arrived. Some of the people at the party are men.6 We weren’t even told that men were at the party. A lot of the people have already been hit. Some in the lungs, some in their brain, others have bone mets7. You name it, Stage IV is killing people. 1148 every day.
People outside are becoming outraged. Many are just trying to figure out how to get the gunman out. Others are focused on disarming the gunman. Some are just trying to keep others out of the party.
And of this scene only 7% of the people9 that know about the gunman are trying to find a cure for the cancer. Because, if they could CURE STAGE IV BREAST CANCER then the gunman would have no power. No one would die from being at the party.
And why didn’t you know about the fact that 1 in 3 people at the party DIE? Because, most of the people in the world are too busy making you aware that THERE IS A PARTY THAT ONLY 1 IN 8 WOMEN GET TO GO TO….you could be the 1.10
1The Party is Cancer
2Cancer Free
3Stage IV Breast Cancer
4Doctors and other medical personnel
5 “Pink-Washing” is the sale of merchandise (usually pink) sold in the name of “awareness” yet most often none of the money actually goes to any charity at all.
6Men also get breast cancer.
7‘mets’ is short for metastasis (also known as Stage IV)
8Yes, it’s true. 114 people die in the US every day from Stage IV breast cancer.
9Only 7% of funding goes to Stage IV research.
10Aren’t you glad that most of the funds spent on breast cancer is primarily to make you “aware”?
Melissa Jansen lives on the central coast of California and is the creator of “I Don’t Need Two,” a fashion website for women who have had a unilateral mastectomy without reconstruction.
Although Melissa’s first degree is in design, she chose to pursue a career in the legal field where she specialized on cases regarding child sexual abuse and domestic violence. Melissa worked as an advocate for protective parents and taught deception, victimization, abuse and trauma to law enforcement.
Shortly after her decision to leave legal work behind, Melissa was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017. While searching for images online of women who had unilateral mastectomy without reconstruction she came up empty handed. Utilizing her degree in design, Melissa now writes articles on how to dress without wearing a prosthetic. She has worked hard to post images of herself for women who have yet to decide their treatment plan.
