I remember how hard it was to come up with the name for this non-profit. We thought about Pink Diary, Pink Diaries, Second Base and others–and then we came upon Project Pink.

The irony is that prior to that moment I disliked the branding of the color pink with breast cancer–it made me feel marked.  I felt like it defined me as a victim of cancer.

And it also made me feel like I was just another color in the cancer wheel–awash me in the hue of pretty roses and throw me in the cancer garden with the rest of the poor saps fighting pink cancer. I abhorred the thought.

Then I lived a little, and then I lived some more–and then I got to a new place in my cancer journey where I not only accepted the pinkness of breast cancer but I was grateful for it.  Because mention pink and cancer in the same sentence and nobody thinks you’re talking lung, colon, brain or bladder–they know you’re talking breast.  And that means they’re aware of your problem, alert to its awfulness, and maybe (hopefully) doing something about it.  When Linda Pattillo, Project Pink’s co-founder, suggested the new name three years ago, I went for it quickly.  Let’s embrace the pink, I remember saying–let’s be Project Pink.  And so we are.

But apparently we are not alone.  Puma, it seems, has decided to devote a new project to breast cancer awareness and it turns out they’re using our name.  Actually I’m not quite sure what Puma’s Project Pink is all about but I’m clear on one thing–it’s trying to broaden the scope of breast cancer awareness.  And for that reason alone, I—now a metastatic breast cancer fighter–am grateful.

You might think I’d be angry and want them to get their own name–but I’m not.  I’m actually quite honored.  We chose a name so well that now a multi-million dollar sports brand is tagging along in title.  I think that’s a big compliment and I hope they kick their effort–to win against the pink beast–through the net and out of the breast cancer field forever.

So here’s to Puma, its division of Project Pink and my own, and anyone else who wants to take on breast cancer and beat it to a pulp. I for one am–you guessed it–tickled PINK that you care about this awful disease and want to do something about it.  Whatever you call your effort is immaterial to me.

Just succeed.
Ann’s books ‘pink tips’ and ‘Words To Live By’ now available in the SHOP section of this website.