Pink Fatigue Rock

I’ll confess that I find all cancer “awareness” campaigns, including my own little Quixotic efforts, to be slightly annoying. I don’t think any awareness campaigner, including myself, really believes that “their” cancer is any more important and deserving of funding than anyone else’s. But the message I get when forced to watch a bunch of NFL hulks running around in pink cleats is that pink matters, black doesn’t. The unfortunate truth is that everyone living at The Hotel Carcinoma is, directly or indirectly, competing in a race for research bucks for their personal brand of cancer that lives depend on. More awareness, more donations. It’s really that simple.


On November 17, a respectable number of residents of The Hotel Melanoma will be participating in a run/walk event in Charlotte, North Carolina to raise funds for Aim at Melanoma.  I suspect our little band will be dwarfed by the pink hoards we’ll all be seeing in Pinktober, but it’s a start. If you can join us, please do. If you can’t, please sponsor a participant.

Just in case we need another rock anthem for November, here’s my version of The Rolling Stones’ “Paint it Black”…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1zBG2TEjn4&feature=related

I see a pink hoard and I want it painted black
No colors anymore I want them to turn black
I see the girls jog by dressed in their runnin’ clothes
I have to turn my head until awareness grows


I see long line of scars and they're all tainted black
With warriors and my sun both never to come back
I see people turn their heads and quickly look away
Like the U-born Black C it just happens every day


I look inside myself and see my heart’s with black
I see hot pink hoard and must have it painted black
Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to raise greenbacks
It's not easy palin' up when your whole world is black


No more will my envy go burn at pinker hues
I could just foresee this thing happening to you


If I work hard enough into November run
My docs will laugh at C before the mournin' comes


I see a pink hoard and I want it painted black
No colors anymore I want them to turn black
I see the girls jog by dressed in their runnin’ clothes
I have to turn my head until awareness grows


Hmm, hmm, hmm,...


I wanna see it painted, painted black
Black as night, black as coal
I wanna see the sun blotted out from the sky
I wanna see it painted, painted, painted, painted black


Yeah!


Hmm, hmm, hmm,...