As of 9 PM EST METAvivor has received no contact from Kohl’s, other than an automatically generated acknowledgement that our emailed letter was received by customer service. Direct emails to Kohl’s executive staff remain unanswered. We have also had no comment from Susan G. Komen, which was copied on the letter.
The Kohl’s Pink Elephant in the Room campaign clearly undermines the message of METAvivor’s Elephant in the Pink Room campaign and co-opts its image and symbology. Living with metastatic breast cancer has, for many, many years, been isolating. Too many have worked too long and too hard to get the voice we have today. We will not let anyone try to take that away from us. Judging by the social media response, our reaction is not unique; many in the metastatic community and beyond are outraged by this callous disregard of the stage IV community. We represent 30% of the breast cancer community and 100% of the breast cancer mortality community. Ignoring us won't make the deaths go away; it will only assure they continue.
We had hoped to establish a dialog with Kohl’s on this issue. We had hoped they might wish to learn more about the metastatic community. We had hoped for an amicable solution. Sadly, none of this has happened. Thus we have made the difficult decision to explore legal options, which have been offered to us pro bono.
