First, of all I am a doctor and see cancer patients every day. I never once said only smokers get cancer. I merely said it is ridiculuous to see fat smokers wear the bracelets. It has become more of a fashion statement than a statement for the cause it represents, i.e., the fight for cancer research.
Meanwhile, smoking is the number one cause of preventable cancer deaths. You are just an idiot. I would bet the vast majority of those smokers who wear a bracelet have no concept on what they represent and merely wear it because it is in the mode.
I donāt give a shit what anyone says. Until you sit in a waiting room while your wife has a gumball sized lump taken out of her breast and wait for the surgeon to give you a preliminary diagonosis, you have no idea what this little band of yellow can suddenly mean.
Iāve been there too. I sincerely hope that your wife is okay. Weāre coming up on 5 years this month, and then we sigh a big sigh of relief. If you are going through this now, I understand where you are, and Iām sorry that you are there. It sucks in ways that nobody who hasnāt been there can understand.
I wear a yellow bracelet for her, and for the people that weāve known that werenāt as lucky as her, and the families that survive them. I also wear it for our good friend who is currently undergoing a very agggressive treatment for melanoma right now. Her mother died of it when she was her age, and she and her husband are very scared.
So, yeah, some people wear them because they are trendy. But others have very personal reasons for wearing them, and unless youāve asked, you havenāt a clue why, in either case. But the people who wear them because they are trendy have also contributed $1 to the cause. It might be their dollar that keeps my daughter from getting cancer. Or my mother. Or my sister. Or my Sister in law. Or my niece. Or my neighbor. Orā¦
Maybe you do, but I will wear one until that memory fades.
Donāt let it fade. Let it piss you off, and then use it for good.
The best to you and your wife. Iām sorry to hear of this.
So if you are a doctor and see cancer patients every day then you should be ecstatic to see anyone wearing them since the money goes to a cancer foundation regardless of the reason it was bought.
If want to argue a point - then argue it. Calling someone an idiot is terribly petty and speaks volumes about your character. I would expect more elegance, compassion and understanding out of someone who claims to be a doctor. Do you treat your patients this way? Do you call all those fat smokers idiots too? I hope you treat every patient you see with respect and give them the care they deserve.
I gave the foundation a donation a while back. I found the bracelet on my desk, recently, still in the package. I donāt even remember it being put there. (What does that say about my desk.) I put it on. Why not.
I 'm not sure youāre going about making this point in the best way possible, but someone whoās wearing a yellow band while smoking must look pretty fucking stupid.
I would say the best way they could honor whomever they know who has or has had cancer, would be to quit smoking.
I havenāt seen that yet, but Iām sure it would make me sick too.
I wear the band because of Lance, lucky for me no one I love has had cancer.
Besides, I just like what it says - it says livestong,
and being fat and smoking isnāt living strong is it.
the doc has a point,
though I think he went off track with the ānot coolā comment.
I do agree that the docās words have been somewhat over the top, but I do agree with one thing. Smokers with a Livestrong band make no sense.
Smokers create second hand smoke, which can aid in developing cancer in those around them. Thatās where I draw a distinction between smokers and other people who develop cancer partly through their own doing.
Yes, itās nice that theyāve pitched in for cancer research, willing or unwilling, through the Livestrong band. But for them to continue to subject those around them to the dangers of second hand smoke is unacceptable, and pretty hypocritical. Iāve seen people die of lung cancer believed to have been brought about by second hand smoke. Itās pretty sad.
Oh, by the way, my mother and my father in law both have lung cancer. So I agree and support all the positive stuff about LAF and other organizations. I just have this thing about smokersā¦
Thereās no question that people indulge in ācompetitive caringā, as is clearly demonstrated by the proliferation of tailgate magnetic ribbons. The LAF bracelet is no exception. People do wear them to be in fashion. And every single dollar spent to be fashionable goes to a charitable cancer organization, so why get upset about it? Itās one of the most successful marketing phenomenons in recent memory. Does it matter that the people wearing them are not athletes? If you get hung up on these things, thatās your problem, doc.
I raised a good bit of money last year for the LAF, but never wore a bracelet. Personal choice.
Hypocrites piss me off as much as anyone else. I was literally run off the road while running on a neighborhood street w/ no sidewalk or shoulder, had to dive out of the way of a blue SUV to avoid being killed - no obstructed vision, the woman made eyecontact. The last glimpse I had of the truck was a rear bumper littered with no less than 7 or 8 āI Careā magnetic ribbons, to show what a humanitarian she was.
There are plenty of jackasses out there. Donāt be one of them.
I read an article about LAās and Michael Milkenās organizations a few months ago. They DEMAND results. If they give money, you canāt just fool around and send in some meaningless results. They have fast-forwarded a number of research areas.
I still wear mine 24/7. I had mine before they were trendy and probably will be wearing mine when they are no longer trendy. I am on my third band and wear mine for friends and my mother who died of cancer.
A co-worker on mine wearing a livestrong band for a non trendy reason spoke with a young Mom wearing one for a trendy reason at the Charleston Naval Base. Conservation lead to young Mom thinking Lance Armstong was the first man on the moon. I am not making this is up. I still wear mine even though clueless idiots try to make fashion statements.
I am stil wearing mine. If someone is worried about it being too trendy, just keep wearing it until the trend fades. As with all trendy items they will fall out of favor sometime in the future and again only caring, commited, knowledgeable active people will wear them.
I have worn mine since the a while ago together with my green āsupport our troopsā band.
A livestrong bracelet isnāt about being an athlete, it isnāt about being trendy, it isnāt about who does and doesnāt wear them, it isnāt about a smoker or non-smoker wearing them, it is about wanting to find a cure, wanting to help those who are affected by cancer, and wanting to help fight this terrible disease in anyway you can. I wear mine because I want to find a cure for cancer. I donāt want to die at at 43 like my mom did from cancer. I donāt want to see others go through all of the terrible things that cancer puts you through. I want to find a cure for this and help those who have this disease. Who cares if someone flips you off while wearing one, who cares if someone is smoking while wearing one, who cares if they are fat and out of shape while wearing one, none of that matters, what matters is that they, like you and me and everyone else who wears one or supports cancer research, care about finding a cure and helping those. If you say that a smoker canāt care about that because they smoke, I beg to differ. Simply because oneās actions in their lives donāt mirror 100% what the ideal is for cancer prevention guidelines doesnāt mean that they donāt care. I recently did the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk and I was shocked to see people smoking while doing that, but what I thought to myself was that at least they care and at least they are out here doing something about it.
If everyone in this world would just put their bitter/negative engery towards something positive I think we would be living in a much better world.
Still wearing mine - July 23, 2004, 437 days in yellow.
Update: eighteen years now = 6,574 days in Yellow
Got one when they first appeared; wore it till it snapped one day. Got another one right away, wearing it now, so technically Iām on my second one, but havenāt missed a day
My dad wasnāt a cycling fan, but he knew I was - even if I was pretty sure he was dirty around win #3 or #4 - but he became a Lance Believer when he was diagnosed with a variety of cancers, himself
He was buried wearing his; Iāll keep wearing mine in his memory
I see hardly any yellow bands anymore; or ANY sort of silicone bands, which once were so popular
LA hasnāt worn one himself in ages, I donāt think? Probably rightfully so
People donāt even ask me about it anymore *vis a vis *āBut he was a cheater; how can you wear that?ā