boobs.

i'll be honest. part of me did not want to write {what seems to be} an obligatory breast cancer awareness post. we all know that october is breast cancer awareness month. 

{source}

well, what about the other eleven months in the year? shouldn't every damn month be breast cancer awareness month? after all, november {back in 2006} was the month that changed my mother's life. she found out - on my sister's birthday, in fact - that she had breast cancer. thanksgiving that year was pretty solemn. thank goodness i was dealing with a stubborn {and very constipated} three year old at the time. aidan's poop issues took my family's minds off of my mother's condition. having to deal with suppositories & potty battles was certainly more entertaining than having to think or talk about the implication of my mother's fate.

yes, i said fate. 

you see, my mom's sister {an aunt that i barely knew} had breast cancer, too. she died. she was young, too, only in her 40s. 

let me back track a bit and say that my mom's diagnosis only came about because my mother insisted on a second opinion because her routine mammogram was not very clear. my mother's primary care physician agreed. a better mammogram was done. one that screamed, "you've got some funky cells infiltrating your boob, lady!"

my mother had options. it was detected early enough. the cancer had not spread. chemo? no. radiation? no. wait & see?* oh, hell no.

my mother had a single mastectomy three days after christmas. go big or go home, huh? clearly, my mother knew from the moment of her diagnosis that her left breast was a goner. sayonara, sucka! the first time i saw my mother's scar i pretty much lost it. it ran from the middle of her left armpit down across where her breast used to be and onto her chest. it was big. it was ugly. but, it was filled with hope. 

my mother eventually opted for reconstruction. {she had a prosthetic boob...that was pretty awesome. seriously, it was a detachable boob.}  her new left breast is pretty . . . and cancer-free. so is her right one and, well, so is the rest of her body. i'm very thankful that all the cancer took was her breast . . . it spared me her life.

{source}

so, in the spirit of all things pink & booby-related, please check your girls. raise awareness for the cause. get a mammogram. and, definitely don't think that you're immune because you're young, you have no family history or you're generally in great health. it's cancer, yo. it knows no boundaries. 

*there was no wait & see option for my mom...i just needed to add that for some dramatic effect. promise.

feel your girls.

{photo credit} 

i think we all know that october is breast cancer awareness month.  but, if you ask me, every month should be breast cancer awareness month.

boobies.  ta-tas.  titties.  melons.  breasts.  knockers.  hooters.  jugs.  tits.  headlights.  bosoms.  girls.  

whatever you call them, take care of them.

feel them.  get to know them.

every month.  after your period. 

in the shower.  on your bed.  in the mirror.

just touch them.

{photo credit}

early detection is key.  it's a curable cancer if found soon enough.

unfortunately, it's still very much a killer.

and, it's not just a girl thing.  although it's rare, men can develop breast cancer, too.

{photo credit}

this month, think pink. 

i know i will.

breast cancer is near & dear to me. 

although i have not had any genetic testing done, i have gone to a genetic counseling session.  numerous cancers run in my family, but breast cancer hits closest to home. 

my mother battled breast cancer and won.  she hasn't hit the five year mark yet, but the anniversary is close.  her sister was not as fortunate.

{photo credit}

my mother's battle with breast cancer taught me that we are all vulnerable.

it also taught me that losing a breast doesn't make you any less of a woman.

seeing her mastectomy scar frightened me.  my father held me, encouraged me to go to my mother & ask to look at it.

my children got to live & learn first hand what it was like to know & love someone with cancer.

there were no secrets.  there was no sugar-coating the truth.

breast cancer is and always will be a part of my life.

---

on october 16th, lis & i are participating in race for the cure.  we've formed a {small} team.  please help support us as we run/walk our way through a 5k race.

twittering for ta-tas

please consider donating or even joining our team.

you don't have to be in our area to join our team - there is a "sleep in for the cure" option that counts towards team membership.

thank you.

Cards for the Cure

It's October.

While it might be time to stock up on miniature candy bars & think of the most ghoulish costume to wear this Halloween, it's also time to "save the ta-ta's" and think pink!

In honor of BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH, Hallmark was a FREE card {available in Hallmark stores only} that you can pick up {as many as you want} to send to all of the special people in your life.

{source}

I picked up one today & I plan on sending it to my Mommy -- who just happens to be a breast cancer survivor.

Can I Get A Baseline?

Friday’s appointment with the genetic counselor went well. The most difficult part of the whole appointment was the homework I had to do PRIOR to my appointment. I was required to bring with me to my immediate family's medical history - more specifically, whether or not anyone has been diagnosed with cancer. A few phone calls later and after I had copied some of my mother's paperwork (she's been there, done that with this whole genetic counseling/testing thing), I knew more about my family’s health history than I ever thought I would want to know. I suppose it’s a good thing because it IS pretty damn important to know what types of illnesses have afflicted or are currently affecting your family.

Anyway, my mother & I went to the oncologist’s office…I normally go to the 2nd floor where the gynecologic oncologists hang out, but this time I stayed on the 1st floor where everyone else goes. It was pretty humbling sitting in the waiting room. There I was sitting with my mother while people are being brought in and out on wheelchairs, reading the newspaper wearing pretty scarves on their heads or walking in clutching the arm of a loved one. Some looked rather tough and others were quite frail looking. Being there made me thankful that I still had my mother sitting next to me and that her cancer was caught early enough that my mother fought back aggressively (I mean, a single mastectomy is pretty darned aggressive in my book).

When we met with the genetic counselor, we went over my family history starting with my children, then my parents & sister, then my parents’ parents & their children, cousins, nieces, nephews and so on. We even talked about members of my extended family. After about an hour of talking, asking questions and nodding heads, the genetic counselor entered my information into the computer and basically read me my cancer fortune, if you want to call it that. Based on my mom’s “no mutations found” result of her genetic test, it was determined that my mom’s breast cancer was sporadic and not hereditary and, therefore, I would not need any further genetic counseling/testing. The computer basically told me that I was right on track for any other normal female of my age and that my chances of developing breast and/or ovarian cancer were in the “normal” range…meaning, as I get older, my chances for developing the cancer becomes greater, but it’s nothing out of the ordinary. While these computer-generated results do offer me a sense of relief, I am still a bit skeptical because it’s just a statistical model. My mother’s sister passed away from breast cancer 12 years ago. That’s two out of five sisters from the same family who were affected. Could there be some hereditary significance? Maybe, but we’ll never REALLY know because my mom had genetic testing done that said there was nothing wrong and her sister passed away long before any tests could determine one's destiny with breast cancer.

At any rate, it was suggested to me to go ahead and start the screening process. I mean, monthly self-exams can only tell so much, right? (My mom's cancer was detected after two mammograms...a self-breast exam didn't detect the cancer...and it was only at the insistence of one of my mom's doctors that they re-did the mammograms and they actually found something...not everyone is lucky enough to have a doctor who will actually advocate for the patient.) The genetic counselor recommended that I get a baseline mammogram this year since I’m only 10 years younger than the age of my mother’s sister when she was diagnosed. If all goes well, a normal baseline will give my doctor’s a good gauge of what my "normal" is and I won’t have to get another one done for a couple years. The easy part is getting the mammogram scheduled. The prospect of smashing my itty, bitty girls between two cold slabs of metal is the part that stresses me out. Of course, the inconvenience and the temporary discomfort is just one of the necessary evils us women have to endure in order to make sure we’re staying healthy. Surely a digital picture of my boobs is much more comfortable than going to the va-jay-jay doctor for a well-woman exam, right?!

CHECKING ON THE GIRLS?

I'm going to see my oncologist tomorrow.

I haven't seen him in a couple years...I haven't had to. But, I'm going to visit him tomorrow to talk. To talk to him about what my options are and what he feels is best for me to do as an almost 32 year old woman who hails from a family with a history of breast cancer. My mom's sister died from it. My mom fought the battle with it just over two years ago. She lost a breast, but she won. I'm already playing with fire because I have a higher risk of developing cervical cancer than most women. Two surgeries by two (gynecological) oncologists in the last eight years might not seem like much to most, but seeing as how cancer - and not just breast cancer - has taken so many from my family, well, I feel like I need to do something.

For me personally, doing a monthly breast exam just doesn't seem reassuring enough. I don't know if genetic testing is in my future. My mother, oddly enough, doesn't think that I should do it and really doesn't think that it will be offered to me (her genetic testing was done AFTER her diagnosis of breast cancer and, wouldn't you know it, her test came back inconclusive). I've always said that you'll never know a thing if you don't ever ask...so that is what I'm going to do tomorrow. Ask. Ask questions. Ask many questions. I don't necessarily like the idea of having a way to find out my fate, but in a situation like this I'd rather not be blind-sided by my own body.


Update since the appointment:
I meet with a genetic counselor next month. My parents will be attending the appointment with me. Hopefully, we'll know more about what my options are once we meet with the counselor.