This month is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month – with a big gold ribbon. I’m not sure I get the whole ribbon thing these days. These tiny two dimensional ribbons pasted on everything and no one can keep track of which ribbon colour is for what thing except pink – everyone knows that is breast cancer awareness but how does a pink ribbon on my cereal box help, I haven’t got a clue anymore. We see ribbons everywhere. But now that I have had a child with cancer, gold is supposed to be my colour! And then whenever I see gold ribbons now, many times it’s a parent angry that their child has cancer, angry that they lost their child to cancer and angry that the government doesn’t spend enough on pediatric cancer research funding. For me, Gold ribbons now just keep reminding me that my baby girl is gone and I don’t have any new photos to pin a ribbon onto any more.
But today a friend posted a picture of Power Girl – a DC Comics Superhero, on her facebook profile with the statement “I intend to fill Facebook with comic book heroes for Childhood Cancer Awareness, give me a like and I’ll assign you a character.” How could I not like that? My daughter was a superhero! I had to become a superhero mom in order to help her. So I clicked “Like” and was assigned Wonder Woman! Every Mom of a cancer patient really is Wonder Woman and every Dad is Superman! That is something I could get behind, supporting all those moms and dads and acknowledging all those awesome superhero kids who are extraordinary in living through the treatments and courageously carrying on or letting go with grace! Yes Superheroes are my preferred way to talk about childhood cancer!
What do you think? Are you into ribbons or superheroes or both?