Choice causes?
Many of us have been exposed to at least one, if not many, causes focused on health. Breast cancer. Diabetes. Heart Disease. The book, “Pink Ribbons, Inc.” details the marketing of generosity, volunteerism, social capital and it’s focus on breast cancer. Quite a compelling read. Even on our own campus, we’ve had the “Tough Enough to Wear Pink” t-shirt campaign.
In your opinion, dear students, why do some causes get such vibrant marketing coverage and therefore, funds? Why do others seem to miss the mark? For instance, common causes of infertility (such as polycystic ovarian syndrome) seem to struggle to find the connections that diseases such as breast cancer or stroke seem to enjoy. Why is it?
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I think one reason that polycystic ovarion syndrome (PCOS)does not get as much marketing is because, from the brief overview I just read, it is not life threatening. There are probably many other reasons but I think that is the prominent reason it does not receive as much publicity. If it’s not life threatening, people are less likely to be concerned about it.
As for other things that do not receive “vibrant marketing coverage” I think it has to do with the lack of informing people. I don’t know much about this kind of thing but I think it would take someone with initiative and the right knowledge of marking skills and marketing abilities to get the message out into the media. The website for PCOS is helpful but they need a way to let the public know about the website. A problem with that could be that they do not have enough funds to make commercials and large campaigns. That creates a circle because they don’t have the funds to get their message out and without their message in the media they can’t receive more funding.
I don’t think that PCOS or other issues aren’t as “worthy” of a large campaign, it just that like a lot of things, our society likes to jump on bandwagons.Often times we hear heartfelt stories that strike a cord with us therfore forever making an impact on our life. For example, the number one cause of death in women is heart disease, but breast cancer seems to get more publicity and support, etc. I can’t be sure of the exact cause of bias support, but maybe that women who battle a long fight with cancer, lose all their hair and lose their breasts appeal to more sympathy than women who suddenly pass away from a heartattack. Maybe if these other causes find a heartfelt way to appeal to their audience they too can benefit from larger campaigns.
Like the other two posts said I think people search for the most serious issues to support. People would be more like to donate money to kids in Africa that don’t have running water and have AIDS, then to kids that just need a music program in their school. People look for severity. Therefore, Breast Cancer and other diseases are more threatening then PCOS.
It also deals with the fact of people having knowledge about the issue. Everyone has dealt with Cancer in one way or another, whether it is themselves, family or friends. But, most people haven’t been affected by PCOS or other uncommon diseases. So, I think lack of funding and support comes from people not have knowledge about the issue.
I think that maybe the issue is money. Maybe there have been people that have had these diseases such as breast cancer and had the money or the time to raise the money for things such as breat cancer awareness and research. PCOS is something that not many people have heard of. I myself have not heard of it till now. I looked it up and it does not seem to be a major killer in women. I think that it has just slipped past people’s attention because there really is no death toll with it. I believe this causes the people who have it to not really have the want to raise the money to make it an awareness for others. I think that some dieseases are just downplayed because people feel that their rmoney and support would be used better with other issues. Not to say that it is not important, but I believe that with money all things can get their support they need. It is just that someone with PCOS has not had the money or the will to make such issues know to general public like breast cancer and heart disease in woman have. Just a thought.
I agree with Caitlin on the fact that some of these causes may just not have the funds or flexibility to create these popular campaigns that attract donors and involvment. The campaign- ” Tough enough to wear pink- Because great breast are worth fighting for” was extremely successful on campus, due to the catchy slogan and appeal to a college target audience. I haven’t seen many other social causes trying to attract this college crowd.
However, I do see the reasoning behind so much support for some causes, because more people have been affected, or know someone that has been affected by that disease. Breast cancer is a great example of this. I know numerous women that has had breast cancer, but I can not name one that has had PCOS. So realistically, I will be more likely to give my money to a cause that has affected my family members and friends.
I Can think of two main reasons why PCOS does not get the marketing of campaign, it should. One is money, there is not a lot of research being done on this , people see that if something isn’t a huge problem, they are less likely to donate to it. Also there are a lot more women who have had breast cancer, that donate money to this cause. There are not as many people with PCOS so they do not get as many donations. I also think that Breast Cancer and Heart Disease are huge because it is such a serious issue. People see that it can kill people so they are more likely to take interest. The competition in the “fundraising health” world, is insane. If you think about all the different diseases there are out there, it’s not just PCOS, that’s not getting attention. You have anything from diabetes, chromes, asthma, lou gehrig’s, hodgkins, lots a lot of problems that are not getting the attention/money they need.
I would have to agree with some of the other students and say the reason that PCOS doesn’t get more attention is because it is not life threatening like cancer or does not cause devastating effecst like MS. Every health problem out there causes its own problems and effect people in different ways physically and emotionally meaning that society will respond to each new disease or health issue differently. Another possible reason that PCOS does not get as much attention or funding for research that is deserves is that not enought people are familiar with it. Maybe somehow the disease is too “touchy” or uncomfortable for the general public to talk about. But I feel that the main reason that PCOS pales in comparison to diseases like breast cancer, heart disease and even multiple sclorosis is that its PR person has dropped the ball.There is no reason why this disease should not get as much funding, attention and respect as every other damaging disease.
In my opinion, the reason that some health causes get more attention than other health issues that can be just as serious is because they affect a vast number of people. Its hard not to know someone who has dealt with diabetes, heart disease, or cancer. In some cases, other health issues may not be life threatening and that would be the reason that they get less coverage.
I would say the companies that have a great marketing campaign have made thier cause a popular thing to support. It was cool to have the Livestrong bracelets. Its cool to have the Product(ReD)items. They put thier cause into popular culture. I also feel that it takes money to make money. You have to really invest lots of $ into a campaign to get a big response. I just don’t see PCOS doing that.
I agree with some of the satatements listed above. Many of the other causes probably don’t have sufficinet funds to create a catchy campaign to raise money. I do agree though that it is something that should be fixed. Many other causes are just as important and in just as much need of money. I’ve known several people who have passed away from numerous diseases that are rarely heard of. Either the money isn’t there, or there isn’t enough people to support a such a little known cause.
I think the reason diseases like breast cancer and heart disease bring in so much attention is because their is no cure they could still possibly find one and they are both such big killers if the not the biggest in America.
Infertility is really hard to deal with and many couples encounter it, but you can always adopt and now their are many ways to still become pregnant with medical treatments.
Also, I think their is just more people that are passionate and are directly related by these disease so they take center stage more often.
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