If you’ve been a reader of this blog for awhile, you have seen the word “cancer” pop up more than we’d like. But cancer is, sadly, a fact of life. It is a fact of most people’s lives at some point. We are all affected. We lost Emily’s mom to ovarian cancer 25 years ago this month. Three years ago my dad battled (and beat!) prostate cancer. And when our friend E was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in January 2011, you, our wonderful readers, pulled together to help. And she is now cancer-free and doing great! Last month she even guest-posted here to raise ovarian cancer awareness.
Now, in October, we move to focus on the kind of cancer that takes the lives of more women than any other – breast cancer. I remember back in 2002 talking to my mother-in-law one day, when she casually mentioned she’d had something show on her mammogram, and was going to have a biopsy. “My mother had something like this, and it was benign,” she said, “I’m not really worried about it.” So I wasn’t, either. When the results of her biopsy came back that she did indeed have a cancerous lump in her breast, we were all shocked. We just didn’t expect it to be anything! Optimism was the word of the day!
Thank goodness, because my mother-in-law was good about getting her yearly mammogram, the lump was detected early, and was able to be removed with just a lumpectomy. She had to have six weeks of radiation but after that has been cancer-free for ten years!
The lesson here is obvious: early detection is HUGE. If you are of age and/or have family history of breast cancer, GET YOUR MAMMOGRAMS! And if you, like me, are still considered too young to need a mammogram, then DO YOUR SELF-EXAMS!
And we’re all being proactive about our own health, we can all take advantage of practical ways to help defeat breast cancer for good. This month, “Pinktober” as some call it, you will see store shelves lined with pink-packaged goods – products you use everyday that will send some cash to breast cancer research if you buy them. P&G Beauty is making it super-easy to SAVE while you GIVE: With their GIVE Hope brandSaver coupon inserts that were in the paper on Sunday October 2 and will be out again on Sunday, October 16th. For each GIVE Hope brandSaver coupon redeemed for the great P&G products you know & love, two cents will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation! The couponer in me LOVES this practical way to give back!
And that’s not the only way P&G is helping out this month: During the month of October, you can receive a $10 rebate with the purchase of $50 worth of P&G Beauty products, including Venus, Olay, Secret, CoverGirl, Nice ‘n Easy, Pantene, Safeguard and Ivory. You can find the rebate form here. Your rebate will also trigger a $10 donation to NBCF!! $10 for you and $10 for NBCF, just for purchasing these great P&G Beauty products!
Finally, here’s one more way to help, that the social media lover in me thinks is awesome! Simply “like” the P&G Beauty Facebook page, and for every “like”, P&G will donate ten cents to the NBCF to further their goal of EARLY DETECTION! How awesome is that?? Ten cents per like, I REALLY “like” that!
Do you have a breast cancer story to share? Leave a comment with how the disease has impacted your life, or what steps you take to make sure you are proactive about detection. I’ll be giving away a gift basket full of P&G Beauty products to one randomly drawn commenter! You can enter through Friday, October 14th at 5 pm EST. Good luck, and let’s make a difference in the fight to END breast cancer!
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I am being compensated for this post by the Motherhood, Hearst, and P&G. But it’s all me, baby!
Luckily ~ no one in my immediate family has been diagnosed with breast cancer. My paternal grandmother died of cancer that started in her uterus ~ therefore, I am religously at my GYN yearly!! She also recommended a baseline mammogram for me at the age of 36. My mother’s best friend is a breast cancer survivor as is my husband’s grandmother.
We lost Diane’s sister, Mindy to breast cancer the day after Christmas in 2003. Our family has never been the same.
Cancer sucks!
UP
My GG died from breast cancer when I was 4 or 5. My grandmother has fought it and won – TWICE – 13 years apart. I am so glad that detection methods have improved so much over just my lifetime. I hope and pray a cure (for all cancer) can be found. It takes too many lives.
My mom has been in remission for about 16 years or so(thank you Lord!!) My doc suggested that once I turn 30 (which happens in December, yikes!) to start having a mammogram. Better safe than sorry! Cancer sucks.
One of my very best friends is a lot older than me — we’ve been friends for 20+ years and during that time she has beat breast cancer twice. She’s taught me a lot about being strong and also about the preventative and therapeutic measures that have become a daily part of her life.
My grandmas were diagnosed with breast cancer 6 months apart. I remember 2002 as the year of the boobies (or lack thereof, as they both got mastectomies!).
I found a lump myself when I’d been married just 4 months. A panicked trip to the OB/GYN, followed by an even more panicked ultrasound, plus a mammogram because the radiologist “couldn’t tell” what the lump was based on ultrasound alone–that was one scary December day, especially for a 24 year old newlywed. Thankfully, I was deemed to have fibrous breast tissue, but told to start mammos at 30 based on my family history and my own boobies fiber-osity! That’s just 8 months from now.
My friend was diagnosed last year with a form of breast cancer that I had never heard of “Inflammatory Breast Cancer”. It does not show in the form of a lump and in most cases by the time symptoms do show it is already in stage 3 or 4.
She found out when she woke up and one breast was larger than the other. There are many different symptoms.
Thank God she is doing well over one year later.
This is very scary and like me many women do not know or unaware of this type of breast cancer.
Ladies please look it up “Don’t be afraid! Be informed!”
jerseygirl137(at)yahoo(dot)com
A very close friend of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer 10 years ago. We were lucky. They caught it early. She still had to have a double mastectomy, but is alive and kickin’ today, and I am so grateful for her, her life, and her story!
My mother was diagnosed in 2009. my mother in law was diasgnosed last year and 2 weeks later my aunt in law was diagnosed.
I am very lucky and proud to say I still have all 3 in my life and that is by the grace of God.
I have never been big on going to the dr getting checkups or even really worrying health wise. But now I know I need to go and have checkups regularly and to instill that within my daughter as well.