Shame on you, John Cena (updated 10/16/12)

For the most part, I have to say that I admire John Cena. The guy worked tirelessly to establish himself as the focal point of professional wrestling worldwide, and succeeded in spite of record amounts of unjustified fan abuse every step of the way. He has also gone to superhuman lengths to support charities, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation for whom he recently set a record by visiting his 300th child. However, the World Wrestling Entertainment stars Rise Above Cancer campaign shows that even he doesnt always hit the mark. During Breast Cancer Awareness Month (and hey, who doesnt need a

month dedicated to a problem thats rammed down our throats every other day of the year?), Cena will be wearing and selling pink-themed ring attire, with a portion of the sales presumably going to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure (SGK) breast cancer foundation. But while THIS ARTICLE about Cenas campaign states the mission of SGK to be eradicat[ing] breast cancer, which can be a deadly opponent when not treated early, the fact of the matter is that the money raised through this campaign will NOT further the cause of wiping out breast cancer, but will instead feed a group that works to ensure that it sticks around. How do I know this? I lost my wife Marianna to breast cancer in 2004, and during that year I began researching what groups like SGK were really doing. In no time at all I uncovered clear evidence of diversion of funds and suppression of valid remedies in the name of profit.

During the course of my research I discovered journalist/breast cancer survivor Peggy Orensteins revelations of what SGK did with donated money in 2011: devoted only 15 cents of every dollar to cancer research, down from 30 cents in 2008 (and dont forget that the research is conducted and influenced by pharmaceutical companies with a huge financial stake in the outcome)

spent roughly 30% of donated money on fundraising (gotta spend money to make money, right?) and administrative costs (a delightfully vague term that could mean absolutely anything they may as well have said We spent it on stuff) spent 55% of donated money (about 200 million dollars) on awareness education and the promotion of mammograms (Source: LA Times article Moving Beyond Pink Ribbons)

Lets look at that last one for a second. Why do they need to spend such an ungodly amount of money to advertise a problem of which were already painfully aware, and why is a company with the word cure right in its name pushing a method of detection that is FAR less effective than previously thought, and does NOTHING to stop the disease itself? Despite what the Cena article would have you believe, a high number of people whose cancers are detected early still die, either from either the disease or from the effects of treatments that theyre told are their only options. And regarding how much of your money SGK spends on itself, The Washington Post had THIS to say: Nancy Brinker, founder and chief executive of [SGK], took home $417,000 in salary in 2010 and paid 50 top executives more than $100,000 each. [Brinker] traveled first class on airlines with the explicit permission of the board she chairs. the latest financial report shows Komen making severance payments to four people, three of them former staffers who each earned more than $100,000 annually. Compensation for top officers, directors, trustees and other key employees was $2.7 million in 2010. Other salaries were listed at $17 million, not including millions more for payroll taxes, pension payments and other benefits.

The majority of Komens revenue appeared to come from contributions and grants. [UPDATE: After this articles October 2012 revision, I discovered that Brinkers salary jumped 64% in 2012 to a reported $684 717 per year] (source: DallasNews.com) Thats right when you run, bike, play road hockey, fight, pogo stick or do the freakin Watusi for the cure, you are funding a truckload of high salaries, perks and payments to SGK executives, a number of whom dont even work for them anymore. How is this deserved when there are MORE people dying of breast cancer than there were 30 years ago? SGK has accepted BILLIONS in donations to fix a problem, only to pay its people fat salaries while the problem got worse. As a man whose own family was deeply affected by cancer, John Cena should know all of this. Its the responsibility of everyone in his position to find out whats really being done (and NOT done) to help their loved ones, but instead hes using his international profile to support a corporation that prioritizes a massively-lucrative revenue stream over peoples actual lives. Mr. Cena, as altruistic a man as you obviously are, you didnt do your homework on this issue and now youre out there telling lies to millions of fans, a huge percentage of whom are children. While youre a truly unique individual who has done, and Im sure will continue to do, a great deal of good, this time around youve dropped the ball horribly. Shame on you, John Cena.

If you want to do some actual good, donate to groups like the Lazarus Health Project (which saved my incurable friends life) or The Rotary Club hospice program. For more information on how to contribute to the solution instead of the problem, read the articles at the Peggy Orenstein link and check out Breast Cancer Action and Breast Cancer Deadline 2020. You can also watch the documentaries Burzynski: Cancer is Serious Business, Pink Ribbons, Inc. and Cut, Poison, Burn. And finally, you can click HERE and HERE for more evidence of SGKs tactics of disinformation in the name of the almighty buck.