Thinking Pink

For the two guys I know read this blog occasionally...you might want to skip on past...or go in knowing that you chose to ignore my warnings. :)

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month...in case you haven't heard. I have always had strong feelings toward this movement, since my grandma had a radical double mastectomy when I was kindergarten (which places her somewhere around age 45 when this all happened). She did not have the resources that we have today, due to research. Most of her siblings had one type of cancer throughout their lives...most of them breast cancer (if I have the correct information). Two years ago I spent a lot of time with a friend who had survived breast cancer. Two years ago I also became good friends with Riann, who had just lost her mom to breast cancer. This summer Riann (age 37) was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a double mastectomy, her sister will be having one next summer due to strong genetic history.

Today I went and had a screening mammogram since I have such a strong family history of breast cancer. I have heard so many times how painful it is, how unpleasant and such. I didn't get to worried about it, but did get a bit nervous as I was lead into the imaging room, I was not looking forward to such "pain". My technician, Michelle, was great. She immediately began talking, asking me questions to take my mind off the fact that she was handling my breast and positioning it just right. The good news...NO PAIN. none. It was a little uncomfortable. Not a way I would choose to spend my days, but all in all, it was a good experience.

So ladies, make sure you get your "girls" checked!