In honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, I really wanted to be one more source of someone telling you to take care of your breast health. Except for me, it is personal. My mom is a breast cancer survivor. And so is her sister. And my grandma (their mother) died of ovarian cancer which is closely related. How’s that for a gene pool. Luckily, we have tested negative for the BRCA gene, but clearly there is something genetic going on.
My long time readers might remember that last fall I had a lump removed. It was a scary time as we didn’t know what the outcome would be. Thankfully, it was nothing, but I am glad I was doing checks and I found it. And because of my family history I am already getting mammograms. I can’t control my gene pool, but I can do everything within my power to catch anything that may happen early.
So, I want to encourage you to give yourself a little October present. Take care of your hooters. Do your monthly breast exams. Don’t know what you are doing. Here is a detailed explanation of how to do one. If you are over 40, you should be getting yearly mammograms. They are not nearly as bad as urban legend makes them out to be. If you have a family history, I hope you are already talking to your OB about how to best start taking precautions.
The survival rate for this disease is so much higher when it is caught early. There are millions of survivors today who can testify to the fact that they are alive today because of a mammogram or breast self exam. Let’s hope we don’t ever get the diagnosis, but I want to ensure that if I do, I did everything I could to catch it early. So grab those boobies ladies!!
For more tips, head over to We Are That Family.
Andrea @ Mommy Snacks.net
says:
I will handle my hooters tonight just for you
….errrr something like that! LOL
Andrea @ Mommy Snacks.net´s last blog ..FREE Box Tops for Education Collection Bin
[Reply]
October 13th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
jean
says:
this hits a bit closer to home as my mom is having a biopsy done tomorrow on a lump that the mammogram detected. thanks for the reminder to do self check!
jean´s last blog ..A Review of Find Your Stongest Life
[Reply]
October 13th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
Kara
says:
Thanks for the reminder! This is not something to be neglected.
[Reply]
October 14th, 2009 at 12:03 am
Will Blog For Shoes
Twitter: willblogforshoe
says:
Great reminder!!!
Will Blog For Shoes´s last blog ..Randomy McRandomson
[Reply]
October 14th, 2009 at 12:06 am
mistie
says:
my hubby said he will put that at the top of his to do list and he would be a better examiner then me since he studies them more than i do ..MEN.. why are they always so perverted???
mistie´s last blog ..wordless wednesday
[Reply]
October 14th, 2009 at 2:56 am
Robin ~ PENSIEVE
says:
I don’t think you can EVER over-encourage women to take pro-active measures to make sure they catch breast cancer early; mammograms, self exams…all contribute to early discovery. Thanks for linking this to WFMW; I did the same with my post just because I’m so hopeful many will see and ACT.
((so glad your scare turned out to be just…FINE!))
Robin ~ PENSIEVE´s last blog ..Thief of memories
[Reply]
October 14th, 2009 at 7:08 am
Laurie
says:
What timing … scheduled my mammogram yesterday! My mom had breast cancer at age 36 (my exact age) so this isn’t my first one. Here’s to healthy ta-tas!
Laurie´s last blog ..Zach Man
[Reply]
October 14th, 2009 at 7:42 am
Becky Jo
says:
Thank you for putting this out there. My BFF died 2 weeks before her 34th birthday from breast cancer and left behind two sweet girls. I will fight this beast til the day I die … or til the day IT dies!!!
[Reply]
October 14th, 2009 at 10:11 am
angi
says:
great post and such an important one
angi´s last blog ..Suave Shampoo helps in laundry
[Reply]
October 14th, 2009 at 10:42 pm
Jenny
says:
Thanks for this post, and helping people be aware.
I’m sure it’ll be greatly appreciated. Cancer runs in my family (on both sides) so I’m always checking my chest.
Jenny´s last blog ..Yum Yum Theme
[Reply]
October 19th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Kellyn
says:
I do the checks each month, sometimes more if I think of it. I too had a lump removed a few years ago, and it was scary.
This is a great reminder for everyone!
Kellyn´s last blog ..What I Learned This Week
[Reply]
October 21st, 2009 at 2:19 pm