On today's Metro Morning, Andy Barrie interviewed Belinda Stronach about a fundraising event coming up in a few weeks to raise money for a breast cancer research facility in Toronto. Stronach, of course, left politics in 2007 around the same time that she discovered she had breast cancer. One of the most interesting parts of the interview--and Andy picked up on this himself--was when Stronach mentioned that she had discussed with doctors her wish to keep her nipple when she was faced with undergoing a lumpectomy.
Now, I'm very much politically at odds with Stronach, but I really loved how brave it was for her to say that. It's not every day that you hear the word "nipple" on public radio (at least in the absence of the words "Janet Jackson"). But more importantly, it was interesting to hear Stronach's own feelings about something that may be perceived as superficial (in the face of a breast cancer diagnosis) but is actually quite important. It provided an insight into how some women may relate to their bodies during a health crisis. I appreciated her bringing it up. And it just makes me want to say, for the record, nipple nipple nipple nipple nipple.
Update: The event Stronach is hosting is called Live to Tell. It's happening on May 20, and features Sheryl Crow, and the proceeds are going towards Toronto's Sunnybrook Hopsital.
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I read the article about this in the Metro this morning. I too was taken aback at seeing the word ‘nipple’ because it just doesn’t strike me as something I read in the mainstream…although that too strikes me as odd. What I was more shocked about was the fact that she had to go to California to get surgery so her nipple could be preserved – and that the alternative was to get a tattoo of a nipple! I found that utterly sad, shocking (much more so than reading the word nipple in print), and superbly disappointing. I actually said the word “seriously?” outloud, thankfully I was on the subway so nobody noticed. Women’s health deserves so much more attention. Bravo to Belinda and people like her for being open about their struggles and trying to make it easier for the next group of women fighting the fight.
I just read about the tattoo alternative here: http://tiny.cc/Uc5bO. I had also never heard of this before. What kind of “alternative” is a tattoo? I don’t know–and I’d love to hear from women who know more about this than I do. But it just strikes me that this is a pretty superficial understanding of the importance of a nipple to a woman’s body and how she relates to her body.
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