At What Cost?

 Way back in March, I could not imagine how disruptive the next few months would be to my life and the life of my family.

We were sailing along, without a care in the world and then whammo, like an earthquake or a tsunami,everything around us would now and forever be seen through a difference set of eyes.

The fragile nature of life had showed up at our doorstep and it had absolutely nothing to do with a stupid virus.

Just before the shutdown,my wife discovered a lump in her breast.

She made an appointment with her doctor who immediately sent her for a mammogram.

The imaging confirmed what Susan was feeling and she was told to schedule a biopsy at once. Then came the shutdown.

Everything got shutdown.

Everything including "elective" procedures.

It was incredulous!

A biopsy to determine if a person has breast cancer was now considered elective treatment.

I was livid,to say the least.

I started doing my homework, gathering up as much information as I could find. I wasn't in a panic.

Information is a good thing and I wanted to be as well armed as possible.

In my research I found that 20-30% of breast cancer patients who get an early diagnosis end up with metastatic breast cancer, meaning it spreads to other parts of the body.

Obviously, being told that a biopsy was elective was not sitting well with me.

We were able to eventually schedule a biopsy after weeks of "are you freakin' kidding me" phone calls.

The results were not as clean as we had hoped they would be.

The diagnosis was confirmed.

Susan had breast cancer.

A plan of action was mapped out and of course, it had to be shelved because once again, the surgery and treatment were classified as "elective".

Once again, more research.

How long is too long to wait?

What happens if this quarantine continues?

In that moment, I could not have given a rat's ass about how many people might die from this stupid virus.It was a) an unknown quantity and b) not my #1 concern.

It was easy to find just how many people die from breast cancer each year.

Just Google it.

After months of anxiousness and frustration, eventually we were able to schedule the procedure and then the follow up radiation protocols.

Because of the ridiculous restrictions that the hospitals had in place, Susan had to go through this mostly on her own.

None of us could go with her.

"Being there" meant waiting at home.

Thankfully she was the trooper we all knew she would be and she came through it all with flying colors.

So why am I bringing this up again and rehashing the past?

It's October, Breast Cancer Awareness month.

And in a year where our family has become acutely aware of breast cancer, it is shockingly apparent that the NFL and MLB and just about every other "socially conscious" group on the face of the Earth, seem to have turned their backs on this fact.

I haven't seen one politician, or one news pundit wearing pink.

Where are the pink ribbons?

Where are the pink socks, shoes, and sweat bands?

Where is the support that was so important in years past?

Missing!

That's where.

I guess these athletes and actors and others who all hold themselves up as the moral standard bearers of our country, have more important things on their plates.

Or maybe, something as unifying and non discriminatory as fighting this dreaded disease just doesn't fit the current social narrative.

This should not have been an either or situation.

You can still be a social warrior while wearing pink.

But that might bring us all together and heaven forbid that should happen, especially in a election year.

Shame on you NFL.

Shame on you MLB.

Shame on you Hollywood.

Shame on every member of Government.

Shame on me for believing that any of them were ever sincere to begin with.