I’m going to say something, something that will make me pretty unpopular with a lot of the women I know, but I believe the whole Pink Ribbon thing is a scam, but hear me out okay?
I see the women in my life devoting their time, energy and finances to this cause but I ask, where does the collected money go? “To finding a search for cancer” you say. So who, who exactly is working to discover this cure? Researchers at some university, researchers at a drug company, probably.
By a show of hands, who believes that if some researcher at a big drug company finds a cure, that drug company is going to give away the cure for free? What, no hands?
There is no financial incentive for a drug company that makes other drugs to relieve the symptoms, or makes chemotherapy treatments, to offer the public a cure for the disease, they will lose money.
Does anyone actually believe that the same drug companies that routinely say they must charge this much or that much for the latest pill to cover the cost of research, does anyone really expect them to give out the cure for free, even after they’ve received all these research funds from the same women that helped provide said funds by participating in walks and other events. Will the minimum wage earner without health insurance be blessed with the new cure gratis? Only a true fool would say yes.
No, each an every one of those people that walked, each and every one of those people who devoted three days each year, for year after year, each and every one of those people better hope that their health insurance covers the cost of the cure because if the drug companies ever decided to release one, it would be worth a fortune.
They’d ask a fortune because the cost of the new pill has to include the cost of the other drugs they will not sell. It has to include the cost of round after round of chemotherapy that will never be administered. It will not happen, there is too much money to be made, too many investors to please. You don’t believe me, read the article written by Stan Gardner MD at http://ldsmag.com/family/healthy-living/article/8608?ac=1
Lets say you owned stock in Company X, a drug manufacturer that makes a tidy profit selling this years new pill, and chemotherapy drugs. Company X has an exciting announcement, it’s found the cure! Company X has decided to do the right thing and is giving it away for free, and sharing the formula. Of course now they’ll stop making the pill of the year, because they found the cure, oh, and they’re laying off 20,000 people that made chemotherapy drugs, oh and the profits, well they’ll take a pretty substantial hit, but you as an investor don’t care because you feel good, right?
Please, anyone, alleviate my cynicism, help me see how this isn’t the only outcome. Help me see how, aside from making the average person feel good, feel like they’re making a difference, how isn’t this just blue smoke and mirrors. I want to believe, but I’ve seen the Great Oz standing behind the curtain and his real name is the Wizard of Profit.