Why I think "Boobie Wednesday" is a big boob.

Twitter. I love it. I have a wealth of lovely followers, and those who I choose to follow back are the best of the best. In times of crisis, folks you have never even met are there for you, but in a totally un-weird way. If that is such a word.

One thing I HATE about twitter are some of the hashtags that go about, in particular the “boobie Wednesday” one. On Wednesdays, female tweeters are urged to change their avatar to one of them in their underwear, thereby providing cleavage pics and a message to “remember to check for lumps and bumps”. Now, I'm sure it is meant to help people and was generated with the best of intentions, but I have always disliked this idea. I have never taken part (and never will) and I personally see it as a voyeuristic pleasure for the men on twitter to make sleazy comments at the avatar they see. It happens that way on my Timeline with those who participate anyway. Urgh!!! It all seems fairly........weird. I don't mean to offend any of my followers who DO take part, but that is just how I see it.

Several months ago I was nursing in a hospital ward where a group of women who had breast cancer were staying. Most had had, or were having, mastectomies. On faffing around the bay, I overheard them swapping twitter addresses. One of them said “Oh but I don't go on twitter on Wednesdays. It's all pictures of other people's perfect boobs who haven't an idea what it is like to have had cancer or disfiguring surgery to them”. There followed a conversation about this, which made me realise that to people actually going through breast cancer, this concept is very distasteful.

Many of you know that I was diagnosed with breast cancer two days ago, a complication that has arisen from the radiotherapy I got for my first lot of Hodgkins 19 years ago. I thought I was coping fine. I am a coper in life and a positive person. Until I went on Twitter today. It's my fault, I should have remembered that it was “that” day, but I didn't. First thing I see are cleavages on my timeline with people doing the “check for lumps and bumps” thing. Suddenly I know EXACTLY how that group of patients felt. I don't have any lumps or bumps. I am feeling probably better than I have for years. But I apparently have breast cancer and am now facing surgery – complicated by the fact that I cannot have radiotherapy, as I have had it before. I am going to be “disfigured”. I am feeling that these posts on Twitter are “rubbing my face in it”, as the saying goes. I don't want to have to boycott Twitter, as so many of my followers are now good friends, and have given me so much encouragement and support – something I am going to need over the next few weeks. I simply feel there is a better way to promote checking for ALL kinds of cancer – not using sleazy avatars of apparently “perfect” chests, and “pretty” lingerie for a start. About 30% of females presenting with breast cancer are asymptomatic anyway (cancer research UK statistic) whose cancer is only spotted by screening (as in my case). Maybe it would be more appropriate for those wishing to highlight self-checks and cancers, to re-think how they "rebrand" this.

Just a thought.