Raising Awareness - Facebook Posts

This week many people on facebook have been posting statuses that would lead you to believe they are pregnant. When people ask, they just reply, "lol, no. I will send you a private message". It turns out that the strange status updates are to raise awareness of breast cancer. I do not really get the connection between the two, other than they both involve girly parts (although men can get breast cancer too, it is rare but it happens). Nothing is said in the status or the replies about, "I did this to make you ask questions so I could remind you that breast cancer is a serious problem". It is usually just more jokes about pregnancy. (Which is also insensitive in a way. I have several friends who struggle to get pregnant and are not able to. I have wondered how they are feeling with all these jokes about being pregnant and comments about "I would just die if it were true". I hope they are not feeling bad.)

A friend posted this status: "I'm 27 and craving awareness and a cure!
I am tired of seeing my baby fighting for his life every day. He is two I want him to just enjoy it like a two year old is supposed to!" She was making reference to her beautiful little boy who has neurofibromatosis. He is currently undergoing treatment for bilateral optic gliomas (tumors on the optic nerves in his brain). I liked her status a lot better. She said what she was raising awareness for and why. I did not feel a need to roll my eyes at another silly status, but rather teared up after reading hers. It had much more of an affect.

I decided to copy her and do the same thing, only make it apply to my situation. I put this as my status : Borrowed this idea from a friend... "I am 34 years old and craving awareness and a cure for NF. No children should have to endure what S (and now to a point C) are having to go through. I just want them to have the normal life of 2 and 7 year olds..one that does not include multiple medications and more than one medical appointment every week. One where there is an easier answer to "Am I going to die like Nana did?" " Another friend copied what I did and made it more generic to fit all moms of children with NF.

My point is to think about what you are writing when you want to raise awareness. Whatever your passion is state it and then state why. It will make much more of an impact. Fact is most people are probably ignoring the fake pregnancy posts by now..and that is sad because breast cancer is serious and does deserve awareness.