My Disease Does Not Exist for your Amusement.

This crossed my tumblr this morning and I found myself... insenced.  I talk in this space a lot about the pinkwashing of Cancer.  About how the world is so eager to wrap up our struggles and our real and ugly fights in a pretty pink bow to present to the world.
.
But it never occurred to me, I've never before seen Cancer turned into a prank.  Into a spoof.  Into a trick.
.
And it brought me to a point of rage that I haven't really felt in awhile.
.
So this was my response.
.
.
.
:-----:-----:-----:----:
Wow.  This is a whole new level of disgust and anger that I’m tapping into right now.  I just- I can’t even.
.
They “tricked” people into thinking JB has leukemia?  TRICKED?  So basically, you told the world a celebrity had Cancer when he doesn’t, and then laughed it off as fans shaved their heads in “support.”
.
And what about all of the non-celebrities who ACTUALLY have Cancer, who live invisible and broke and drowning in medical debt, LOSING their hair, painfully, traumatically while fighting for their lives.
.
You made a stunt out of a disease that kills people.  Every day.  A disease that even when it doesn’t kill has devastating effects on individuals, families, finances, futures.  You made a stunt out of Cancer.
.
And as Cancer fighter, that is not ok with me.  And the fact that JB went along with it, played into this little stunt- just tells me how truly immature and out of touch he really is.  I want an apology.  I want a big, public, genuine apology.  I want a donation to the Cancer Society.  I want JB visiting actual Cancer patients and apologizing for his little “stunt.”
.
I want the world to stop pretending that Cancer is ok just because it happens so often.  Because I am tired of having my pain pinkwashed… and then coopted for “fun.”  Because Cancer isn’t fun.  And this stunt is despicable.
.
So to Justin Bieber, and 4chan, and any other party who participated KNOWING that this was in fact, a trick?  Fuck you.
.
You owe every single one of us an apology.  You owe it to the men and women and children who LIVE with ACTUAL CANCER and don’t have the option of “tricking” adoring fans into shaving their heads in “solidarity.”
.
Sincerely,
An ACTUAL Cancer patient who is NOT amused.
:----:-----:-----:----:

.
Looking through Twitters, I don't know how real those tweets from ET and Bieber are.  I don't know if they were complicit or participated and then deleted them later.  But the point is not whether or not they actually participated in the ruse.
.
It is not now, nor will it ever be appropriate to coopt a deadly and destructive disease for your "fun."