Latest posts by Martin Moodie (see all)
- How I overcame Severe Tire Damage to become the oldest influencer in town - April 20, 2024
- Free as a (Kiwi) bird and flying high in Haikou - April 13, 2024
- Discovering Food Accademia’s world of fine flavours at a Hong Kong cha chaan teng - April 6, 2024
Today The Moodie Report is in the pink. Literally and metaphorically. The masthead of our website has gone from its familiar blue to pink. And so have all the headlines on our home page. Next week so will our e-Newsletter and ‘7 Days PDF’.
Why the change of hue? Simple – October marks The Estée Lauder Companies’ 18th year of battling against breast cancer through its acclaimed Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign and we are absolutely delighted to support it.
This campaign continues to spread the critical message that early detection saves lives. This year the accompanying slogan is: “Connect. Communicate. Conquer. Prevent breast cancer one woman at a time. The Pink Ribbon. Wear it. Share it.”
“When I launched The Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign in 1992, breast cancer was only spoken about in whispers,” noted Senior Corporate Vice President Evelyn Lauder. “Major strides have been made, though we still have a long way to go. We continue to make a real difference, and through our combined efforts of raising awareness and raising funds for research, breast cancer will become a distant memory.”
Beautiful words and ones that ring true for me on a personal level. In recent months I have spent more time than I would wish inside a chemotherapy unit. There I have met many brave women who are battling breast cancer. The common element that stands out among them is not their condition but their dignity. I have spoken to many and simply watched and admired others, while we sit hooked up to our respective drips.
Many have lost their hair – a common side-effect of chemotherapy and one that represents a major psychological challenge for all patients (with the exception of a certain less than hirsute media Publisher) and especially women. All, without exception, have born this potential indignity with a courage verging on defiance.
The other week I sat alongside a woman from Dublin wearing a conspicuously clunky wig and a woman from France wearing a stylishly chic tinted one. Both had a powerful beauty that transcended the physical.
On Wednesday at the Royal Marsden Hospital I met another woman breast cancer patient who, like me, was being prepared for an imminent operation. She had two toddlers in a double wheelchair by her side while she had a blood test. Some other patients in the waiting room offered to look after the children while she underwent the procedure. The woman was having none of it – with a smile she simply said she wanted to keep her young ones by her side.
I don’t know that woman’s name. But I recognise her spirit. I hope she will lead a long, happy and ultimately happy life and be the loving mother of those two lovely children for many years to come.
The time for whispering is long gone. It’s time to shout Breast Cancer Awareness and put more and more women around the world in the pink.