The cure for breast cancer remains elusive, despite the generation of millions of dollars for breast cancer research from pink marketing over the past decade

The ubiquitous pink ribbon – everyone knows it symbolizes the search for a breast cancer cure. Not only is the pink ribbon everywhere, it seems that the whole world has turned pink. You can buy a pink frying pan or spatula, pink Barbie doll or boxing gloves, pink M&Ms or tic tac breath mints, even a limited edition Ford Mustang with a 'Pink Package!' These pink product purchases generate money for breast cancer research, mammograms for detection or treatment for people without means.

Well then, if everything’s pink, why does breast cancer still kill over 500,000 women (and men) worldwide each year? This has a simple two-part answer. First, breast cancer is a multifactorial disease that we’ve made progress in overcoming, but there’s still a ways to go and second, the 'pinking of the world' has as much to do with product merchandising as it does with funding cancer research.

However, maybe someday Barbie may make a difference and breast cancer will be as manageable as diabetes.