As Breast Cancer Awareness month comes to a close, I hope that you were doing more than just admiring all of the trendy pink shirts of the season and got involved in some way to promote the awareness of breast cancer. I have said it before — breast cancer knows no color, no age, and no income level. It is capturing the lives of younger woman every day. Every one of us either knows someone who has breast cancer, is recovering from breast cancer or has a history of breast cancer in the family. It’s an aspect of “six degrees of separation” that is on an entirely different level. While it connects many woman in ways like never before, breast cancer is also impacting the lives of woman like never before. Taking our mothers, our sisters, our daughters and our friends.
I urge you to get involved this year, it’s not too late. This is the last week and you can make a donation, volunteer at an event, or run (or walk) in the last Breast Cancer Awareness race of the year. It only takes a little, you don’t have to do a lot.
As the niece of two aunts who died of breast cancer, the granddaughter of an amazing woman who was a 15-year breast cancer survivor and the friend of a very courageous woman who had a double mastectomy because she carried the breast cancer gene, I am committed to informing and educating people about this disease I want honor the woman who came before me and stand side by side supporting the women I know who are still here fighting.
As always, I like to leave you with some tips to help keep you “in the pink” about lowering your risk of getting breast cancer. Even if you have a family history of breast cancer, like I do, doing preventive acts can really help reduce your chances of acquiring the disease.
Conduct a self-breast exam. Get to know your breasts. Are they lumpy? Do you know notice anything different?
Get a mammogram. If you have a family history like me, then you should schedule an exam by the age of 35. Most women get one around 40-45. And to my girls who are 40, please get your mammogram. No it is not comfortable. Yes the machine squishes your breast together and it does hurt. And yes, the liquid they use is ice cold. But it is important to get the test.
Improve your diet if it is filled with soda, sweets and fried foods. These foods have a negative impact on your health in general.
Talk to a young woman about the importance of breast health. Start a discussion with a young woman you know and ask her if she has questions about breast cancer and what it means to her. Encourage her to know her family history.
To donate a mammogram, click here– www.thebreastcancersite.com
Live life, live healthy!
