Breast Cancer Awareness Month

In support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I am going "pink." Yep, for the whole month! I just heard about doing this a couple days ago while searching the web for more information on breast cancer. I thought it sounded like a grand idea, so now I'm "pink." I encourage everyone to show some support, as well!

What prompted this most recent search? I read a news article about consuming alcohol increasing your odds of breast cancer by 30% (I didn't bookmark the original article, but here's a similar one). Now, I've heard that a glass of red wine a day can protect against heart attacks (turns out these studies were done by the same people who did this most recent study). My mom died of heart disease almost 6 years ago at the young age of 54, so I have been considering having that glass a day... now I'm not so sure that will be a reasonable preventative measure.

Apparently, this alcohol link is not new. I found articles dating back 2002 and older claiming such things as Daily Glass of Wine Boosts Breast Cancer Risk by 6%. Where have I been? Avoiding the news... there just never seems to be anything good. :( ...AND I never wanted to think about my own mortality. Recently, I have discovered the joy of "reading" the news on the computer... not sure why I didn't think of it before. Anyway, I'm getting off topic now...

There seems to be so many conflicting studies and recommendations on how to prevent breast cancer... heck, any cancer. I'm not entirely sure what I'm supposed to be doing to live the healthiest possible lifestyle! Now that I have children, I admit that I've gotten more concerned about what to do to be able to see my kids grow up. Not having my mom around now has been REALLY hard... not a day goes by that I don't think about her. I want to be around for my children AS LONG AS I POSSIBLY CAN! Therefore, I have been considering my mortality a lot more lately.

I have also been keeping an eye on the news for information regarding breast cancer since I "met" WhyMommy. It was through her that I first heard about inflammatory breast cancer. I must say I never knew that there was more than one type of breast cancer... AND that you could have cancer without the tell-tale lump you always seem to hear about.

What I did know about breast cancer before recent learnings? I knew that I was supposed to do a monthly breast self-examination... AND to tell you the truth I didn't really know HOW to do one. It's funny... I consider myself well-educated, but for some reason I give myself lots of slack when it comes to health issues. No, I take that back... it's NOT funny, it's SAD! In regards to self-examinations, I've been feeding myself the excuse that "I'm pregnant" or "I'm nursing," so of course they'll be different.

Now of course I no longer have those excuses. So, it's time to start figuring out what I SHOULD be doing to be here for my kids! If you happen to be passing by, please join me in supporting Breast Cancer Awareness this month. Increase your knowledge on the subject... after all, "knowledge is power."