Breast Cancer Awareness Month is October
Posted: Wednesday, October 05, 2011
by elle kynzer
There are many things going on in fall, but every woman who has not had her mammogram this year needs to get one. When I was a young woman, this terrible cancer struck my grandmother, who had to have a masectomy. She took it in stride, and lived to be in her late eighties, because of the drastic surgery. We have such better ways of preventing this cancer now, because of early detection. In fact, if you wait until you find a lump, then you may have waited too long.
Of course, genetically speaking it was of great concern, and the fact I look so much like this grandmother was proof of my genetic connection. If you have the good genes, then in my non scientific mind, it was more than likely I may have inherited some of the bad ones too.
The hours I spent being poked, probed, and stabbed with this huge needle to extract "whatever" the substance needing to be checked, definately caused more emotional stress than physical. Then to add to my concern was the fact that I would not have an answer right away. Finally, there was the long awaited call, and to my relief it wasn't anything to worry about. Once you have invested that much energy into something, it makes you wonder how did they not find anything.
The fact it happened at all makes a woman know the value of her mammogram, and what it could reveal. The same is true of a woman's pap smear, that test saved my life when I was thirty two, and needed to have surgery. Our bodies aren't for gambling, so don't roll the dice by thinking nothing is going to happen. Most health departments offer these tests at a reduced rate to any woman, who can't afford a regular physician, so lack of money is no excuse.
Any woman who has ever dealt with pre-cancer cells, or had a hysterectomy should know that all of her reproductive system is somehow connected, and she should keep up with a yearly mammogram. The digital ones are less painful. In the older women, for years it was considered correct to place a woman on hormones, which created more to worry about. Now that use of hormones has caused concern for future problems. Some women choose natural supplements to get them through menapause.
No matter what we choose, the mammogram has no replacement. If you don't take care of yourself now, who will take care of your family once you are gone?
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Thanks for the reminder, Elle!Please log in to respond to this comment.
I hate them, hate to go and worse, don't. I read, and comment and know. You make excellent points. Thanks for writing this excellent article.Please log in to respond to this comment.
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