My (first) wife died from an especially aggressive breast cancer. We had an extra year beyond prognosis because of the miracle of Herceptin. The amount I grew in love with her during that time and the amount I learned about myself in that time are gifts for which I am eternally grateful and for which I wouldn't trade for anything today.
I only want to give a minor fuck you to the pink ribbon. The Komen foundation, while having done great work in getting out the word, and was instrumental in getting funding to much breast cancer-related research and assistance, might not be the best place for those who want to donate to help. There are more efficient charities out there. But, my main complaint against them is they sue for others who use their trademarked pink ribbon; even if the purpose of those they sue was to bring awareness to breast cancer or to raise money for breast cancer assistance and research. Me? I choose to give 20% of my (Breast cancer) donations to more efficient charitable organizations for research. The other 80% goes to local organizations that directly help those who suffer.
That's the thing that most wounded me during our struggles with the disease. The amount of people who have no one to help. My wife had me. Her family, while cared, were far away and could not do that much in anything other than moral support. The stories I heard in the hours I sat with my wife getting the poisons pumped into her system in the hope that more cancer was killed than healthy cells were tragic. Not only does the divorce rate jump for younger women (like my wife), but also the disease can strike someone older and already alone due to the fact us men tend to die earlier in general. Going through all that cancer entails--alone--is something I saw a lot of and decided to focus my giving on. I hope those who still have a bit left after all the other worthy causes out there, think about organizations that help with transportation, food and other direct assistance on a local level. And, while it is a hassle, if you look you might just find some group that can help you give the most valuable thing you can, a little time and a willingness to listen, to those who suffer alone.