Yesterday, I received one of those Facebook messages requesting that I pass on to all my female friends a reminder that this is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The message is aimed at reminding everyone to get a mammogram.
Well, rather than pass on a mass message of someone else's creating, let me give this a personal word from my own experience. To cut to the chase, I am here today because I got a mammo in the middle of a normally hectic day in 2013. Did I want to do it? NO. Having my boob squeezed in that cold, hard machine was just not high on my list of favorite things. Besides, I'm busy. Mammos take time. And the available appointment time was just not convenient. It was really cutting up my day. Yada yada yada...what a pain!
But I went. And I'm glad. The ensuing months were not what I would ever choose to do. From that day in 2013, I lost control of my life for awhile. Anything I had planned flew out the window only to be replaced by surgery and chemo treatments. The picture here was taken the June day after I sat in the chair of a sweet lady barber and had my hair buzzed off. Being the vain creature I am, my first question to my oncologist was "Will I lose my hair?" The answer was quick and no-nonsense..."Yes." Since I knew she had done this very thing herself, I knew she appreciated my feelings.
There are those who say mammograms are not worth the time because they don't tell the whole story...if you do your own breast checks and see your doctor once a year you'll be okay. I'm telling you that if I had waited until I felt something, I would not be here to write this today. Get the mammo. Right now, it's the best we've got for early detection. With what my doctors saw on the mammo, we moved on to further tests and pinpointed the enemy. And it was game on from there!
So pass on those reminders on Facebook. Do whatever you are led to do for yourself and your friends. Just remember what this friend is telling you:
GET THAT MAMMO!