by Michael Fielding

Created on: November 04, 2009   Last Updated: November 06, 2009

Quick: What's the leading cause of death in women? (Just 57% of American women know the real answer.) No, it's not breast cancer.

Ok, let's try again. What's the leading cause of death in women?

Huh, they've gotten to you, too, haven't they? Komen for the Cure the nation's largest private charity dedicated to breast cancer research has helped fund nearly every advance in breast cancer research by raising more than $800 million since it was founded in 1982. The charity's pink ribbons and seemingly endless campaigns are everywhere.

It's cause-related marketing at its finest, but at what price?

You may be familiar with the concept of pink washing, the term used to describe the corporate partnerships Komen has formed, which has allowed the charity to raise $30 million annually from those partnerships. Consumers are inundated with pink-ribbon promotions and products throughout the year and particularly in October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month. (It's also Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Respect Life Month, but I bet few of us knew that either.)

Komen certainly isn't the only charity dedicated to breast cancer awareness. The Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation both contribute greatly to the cause as well.

I don't fault any of them. It's not their responsibility to raise awareness of heart disease, lung cancer or Alzheimer's (or any of the other leading causes of death in women that make breast cancer #7 just slightly ahead of diabetes). They're focused on one thing, and they do it extremely well.

But do they do it too well? I've got mixed feelings about the breast cancer awareness movement. On the one hand, how can anyone conscientiously object to a cause that seeks to save lives? On the other hand, though, Komen and its peer organizations essentially are drawing funds away from research and treatment of the real leading causes of death in women: heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, chronic bronchitis/emphysema/asthma, and Alzheimer's disease.

This is no case of a negative Ned howling over something about which he knows nothing. Both of my aunts have been treated for breast cancer. In both cases it was detected and treated. Period. They both survived it, and we all moved on. I can think of several friends whose own mothers have been treated for the disease as well.

In the end it's not unlike any other highly treatable disease, such as kidney disease, which runs in my family. But just because I'm at an increased risk

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