TOUCH YOURSELF!
Its Breast Cancer Awareness Month and maybe the only time I can use a blog title like
Touch Yourself without losing my lovely readers.
I'm going to step up on my soap box and remind all of you about the importance of the Self Breast Exam. It is so important to learn what your breasts feel like and
what is normal for you in order to indentify any changes.
I'm going to remind you that I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 27.
That is 13 years before mammogram age.
I would have been long dead by 40 had my cancer not been found.
I am alive because a lovely doctor felt a lump in my breast during an exam.
I did not find it because frankly, I wasn't doing regular breast exams.
Give yourself an exam.
Let your partner give you an exam.
Let a stranger... dear God, I'm only kidding, although I am sure you would get some volunteers.
Please don't be telling your other half I sent you out to the streets to get felt up.
This page here has information on how to do self breast exams among other bits of info.
Take the quiz and test your BC knowledge!
Please also know that only 5-10% of breast cancer comes from the hereditary genes.
The other 90-95% of us just get it without rhyme or reason.
Women get it, men get it, people of all ages get it.
So spread the word and encourage the people you love to be proactive!
That being said, if you do feel a lump don't freak out.
The vast majority of lumps found are absolutely nothing.
I know so many women who felt a lump or had mammos or bibopsies :) that ended up being nothing.
The point is that they checked it out.
If you would like more information about finding a lump go here.
Also, if ever you need someone to talk to about any of this please don't hesitate to email me.
I am not a doctor and I can only speak from my experience
but I promise to give you nothing but honest answers or a listening ear.
Now go touch yourselves! Oh, and tell your friends to touch themselves too!
Here in Ireland you're not offered a mammogram til you're 50 so I definitely would have been long gone!!
ReplyDeleteSo happy you found yours in time!!! You had the best outlook through that very scary time!!! ,,,and now a marriage and baby!!! Dawn, so happy for you!!!
ReplyDeleteI remember this from last time!! Wonderful advice, wonderful advocating for women's health. Good on ya Dawn!
ReplyDeletePS I started a new blog at ourlostcoin.blogspot.com :o)