Skip to content

Pink. Firetruck.

17 comments

Saw this at the WEMSA Working Together Conference in Milwaukee.

I think it's sweet, I really do. A bunch of macho, hairy-chested firefighters show their softer side by raising money for a very important cause, ie breast cancer awareness. They wear pink, they stand on street corners filling boots with donations, they wear pink work shirts.

Heck, they even paint their engines pink, all in the name of Saving The Boobies.

Yet, I have yet to see a piece of apparatus painted royal blue, or see a firefighter standing on a street corner raising money for prostate cancer.

You know, despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of them have prostate glands, and a 1 in 6 chance of getting prostate cancer. Or the fact that prostate cancer kills more men than breast cancer kills women, each and every year. Or the fact that despite those numbers, prostate cancer research still gets a tiny fraction of of the research dollars compared to breast cancer.

There are over thirty fire blogs in the JEMS EMS/Fire Blog Network, and as far as I know, all of them are written by men. Only a couple of the entire network of bloggers are female. That's 44 men, give or take, blogging right here on this network.

That means that at least seven of us will probably develop prostate cancer in our lifetimes.

And at least one of us will die from it.

As far as I know, none of the fire bloggers here participated in Kilted to Kick Cancer. Some donated money, to be sure, but none of them actively solicited donations on their blogs. In fact, when it came to fundraising, the gunblogger community beat the EMS and fire blogging communities like they stole something.

So here's my challenge, both to the fire bloggers here on this network, and to firefighters in general:

Who among you is going to go blue for the month of September?

Do your usual fundraisers for breast cancer awareness for October, guys. Keep the pink shirts and pink ribbons, participate in Run For The Cure. Heck, spray every apparatus you have Pepto Bismol pink, if it makes you feel good. It's a good cause, and it deserves our support.

But September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.

Our month.

Strap on your kilts (they even make a nice firefighter tartan), put up a blog badge, and do something tangible for prostate cancer awareness.

And I want to see some friggin' fire engines painted blue, or at least with a big honkin/ blue ribbon down the side. I'm going to have one on my ambulance, you can bet on that.

And come September, I want to see pictures of you in your kilts, and your engines decorated in blue.
 

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Posted by on February 2, 2012 • Filed under: Kilted to Kick Cancer
  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Matt-Stone/1414861447 Matt Stone

    Kelly, send me some more info on Prostate Cancer fundraising.  I would love to help out.  My grandfather is a Prostate Cancer survivor.  The numbers and my history scare me.  Anything I can do to help out, let me know.
    emtstoney1031@@aol:disqus .com

  • Joe Allen

    Hmmm…. Titty Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness, wouldn’t that make it Brown for Prostate?   Or maybe an extended index finger as an emblem…

  • http://twitter.com/emtgirl Renee Roberts

    Some of the female bloggers, myself included, are going blue for September. :-D

  • NinjawifeEMT

    But our trucks are already white with a blue stripe lol But in all seriousness, I’m game! We have a pink ambulance here in Okc and Tulsa also has FD and PD. Be sure to remind us and spread the word! Is there a fancy catch fraise???

  • Anonymous

    I have the same problem with the NFL.  They go all pink in October for breast cancer, but in a sport PLAYED by men, that starts in September, they virtually ignore prostate cancer, at least as a league.

  • Anonymous

    Yep. It’s shameful.

  • LL

    Like I told you, I love that you do this prostate cancer research support thing.  I’ve done a few non-medical prostate checks in my life (don’t judge me, to each his or her own) and men should get it done for their own health.  I’m a girl, but if you want me to work a tartan top like this:  
    http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/gutcheck/tiltedkilt.jpg  I’m game!  :D

  • Anonymous

    Um, LL?

    You know the thought of you rocking that top makes my brain lock up, don’t you?
    You’re evil. I like that. ;)

  • Anonymous

    No, I’ll never be seen in a kilt… regardless of to colour (yes, the spelling is intentional) because all the hair has fallen off of my balls and I get cold? Now quit the macho defaming shit and just let me contribute my money to the cause (I didn’t say cure because Komen might sue me) and give me a break… okay? I ain’t gonna wear no skirt without panties!

    Must I kiss a blarney stone or something to get some peace? Kee…rist!

  • Anonymous

    Mule Breath, the point wasn’t to shame you or anyone else into wearing a kilt, I was trying to get the firefighters to support a cause that affects them much more directly than breast cancer, yet is seemingly ignored by most men.
    Kelly Grayson

  • Anonymous

    Oh hell Kelly, I know that. I was trying to be kinda humorous and make a joke of it. Isn’t that what we macho men do? 

    These kind of imbalanced situations are pretty much the norm in medicine. It was sometime in the early 90′s that I attempted to draw attention to the fact that HIV/AIDS was receiving a disproportionate share of both attention and funding than HCV and HBV, yet hepatitis was affecting and would eventually kill more individuals than AIDS.

    You would not believe the crap I caught over that… most of it from physicians who were making a buck off of AIDS research. Its all about the funding, and nothing has changed. Roughly 40% of Americans either have or have had one of the various forms of the hepatitis virus, and roughly half of them don’t know it yet. 

    Something very similar is true with cancer research. Even though it has increased in incidence with no real return on the dollar… and only because of the marketing… breast cancer is big business. Lots of money to be made in the effort to save the ta tas. 

    Breast cancer research is funded very well (to the detriment of other cancers) and the most well known nonprofit seems intent on litigation claiming “trademark infringement” if any other cancer organization uses their trademarked word “cure” in their advertising… or even the color pink, which they claim as their own. Someone please tell me how that benefits the goal.

    My jocular response should not hide the fact that I am a supporter of research and prevention efforts for *all* manifestations of cancer without any preference toward any.

    But I still ain’t gonna wear no damn dress… even if it’s blue. My balls get cold. 

  • Sewmouse

    I’m a girl – but I’m in need of a new cancer-research charity to support due to recent unfortunate events, and I think that going “blue” sounds like just the ticket. 

  • Anonymous

    Thanks to everyone for your comments.. I want to applaud you for your support of Prostate Cancer. Ambulance Driver, I wish we could have met at WEMSA so I would have had the opportunity to explain the mission of Pink Heals and our Pink fire engine Jessica. I agree that something should be done to increase the awareness of cancer in males and being a male myself I am well aware of the devistation effects of Prostate Cancer. I recently lost a very close friend and have a second close friend that is currently fighting the dreaded disease.
     
    We as firefighters and paramedics have built and drive these trucks around the entire country in honor of ALL women who have fought or are currently fighting ALL cancers. The trucks are painted pink, because pink is the representative color of women.
     
    When you leave the hospital with a newborn baby girl – What color is the blanket the she is in – Pink. When a small boy falls down and skins his knee, who does he call out for? MOM! When a boy in school needs his lunch packed who is there to take care of it and make sure his clothes are clean and he brushed his teeth? Mom. The boy is now out on his own and a care package shows up. Wanna guess who probably sent it. Now the boy is a man and has a bad day, it is his wife or significant other that is there to support him.
     
    When the tables turn it is now our job as men to support our women. That is why we have picked this as our cause. We are there to help others support and spread love hope and awareness of cancers that affect women. We are a tool for you and your cities, fire departments and police departments to use free of charge to raise funds for your causes in your cities and towns.
     
    Ambulance Driver, as you stated someone should do a blue fire truck for prostate cancer awareness. I agree and I am 100% behind you. If you are taking on this challenge I would be happy to assist you in anyway that I can. Based on your Blog name I am assuming that you work in EMS. Why not a Blue Ambulance?
     
    If you do go in that direction the only advise that I would offer is that you keep it open for ALL male cancers. To single out a specific disease is, in my mind, an unfair situation. One of the other writers stated that Breast Cancer is well funded. I agree. We need to look at the overall big picture.
     
    I am very aware that I as a driver of a pink fire engine am not going to cure cancer. But if I can help someone with a hug or a smile and some time to talk, then I feel that our mission is a positive one.
     
    Our truck is named after a 16 year old girl with spinal cancer not breast cancer. In the last year while her friends were getting drivers licenses, going to football games and homecoming dances, Jessica was learning to walk again. The cancer paralyzed her from the waist down.
     
    The truck has hundreds of signatures and comments on it that cancer surviviors, patients and families have written. The youngest being 3 years old and the oldest being 97 years old. Men have signed, women have signed and children have signed.
     
    I encourage everyone to please visit our website both on the national level and local level. Also please visit us on facebook and youtube. If you have any questions or if I can personnally be of any help in your endevours please do no hesitate to contact me.
     
    Sincerely,
    Steve Rusin
    Pink Heals of Northern Illinois
     
    Email: steve@pinkhealsIL.org
    Website: http://www.pinkhealsIL.org
    National website: http://www.pinkfiretrucks.org
    Facebook: Guardians of the Ribbon-Northern Illinois Chapter
     
     
     

  • Anonymous

    Steve, just so we’re clear, I applaud what you’re doing. I loved the idea of Pink Heals.
    My point wasn’t to promote fewer pink ambulances and fire trucks, but to have more blue ones as well.
    As far as a blue ambulance, my employer is pretty partial to their current paint scheme, but an ambulance decorated with a big, bold Prostate Cancer Awareness ribbon is already in the works.
    Thanks for your comment, and thanks for everything you do to help in the fight against cancer.
    Kelly Grayson

  • Too Old To Work

    The comment is useless without a picture of LL wearing that top. Just sayin’.

  • http://tooldtowork.com/ Too Old To Work

    AD, I applaud your efforts to raise awareness for prostate cancer. There are big organizations, one in particular raising awareness of breast cancer. It’s time that men took that approach to prostate cancer. The biggest breast cancer organization not only doesn’t give even a mention to prostate cancer,but if I remember it correctly, actively threatens to sue any organization that it thinks infringes on it’s catch phrase.

    Sorry pink fire fighters, I’ll not support that organization in any manner until it changes it’s tune.

    And, I wear a blue ribbon on my uniform and when asked I explain exactly why.

    It’s time for men to start advocating for prostate cancer awareness 365 days of the year.

  • Pingback: The pink steamroller vs emergency vehicle colour and markings | Ambulance Visibility Blog

Vote for me! Click Here

Polarized sunglasses, Flashlights, and Hiking boots.