My friend Anna at My Only Photo asked me to pass along this pink penguin in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I'm happy to oblige.Last month I had a mammogram. No, they are not fun but they're not torture either. My only advice is Don't Look Down until it's over. I will say I don't believe that such a device would ever have been invented for the detection of testicular cancer. Squish a boob...you can handle it ladies. Buck up! It only last for a few seconds. Squish a nut...um, no way! I can see brothers around the world crossing their legs in anticipated agony now.
But a mammogram is our best defense until a new breakthrough makes it easier and more comfortable. And when the odds are so against us and there is so much to lose, we have to be diligent about early detection of cancer. No excuse is good enough for neglecting this important test.
I consider myself extremely blessed that no one I love has died from the terrible disease. We've had close encounters among my family and friends - lumpectomies, exploratory procedures, biopsies. That was enough to drive home the point that early detection and self-examination are mandatory.
Look at it this way. Most of us go to the dentist twice a year because we want to look good and keep our teeth. We aren't going to die if we get cavities but we go. Women faithfully keep weekly manicure and hair appointments. We spend thousands of dollars to puff up our body parts and look good on the outside. Yet we don't value our internal selves enough to go for a simple test once a year. For women over 40 ignoring a yearly mammogram could be a death sentence but on our way out we'll have nice skin, pretty toes and a flat stomachs from all those crunches. I hate to sound so dramatic but it's true.
Please take care of yourselves, ladies. Live to raise your children. Live to see your grandchild graduate from college. Live long enough to realize your dreams. One test, a mammogram, can greatly increase your odds of growing old in your honey's arms.
Do it..because you love yourself or at least because someone loves you.
But a mammogram is our best defense until a new breakthrough makes it easier and more comfortable. And when the odds are so against us and there is so much to lose, we have to be diligent about early detection of cancer. No excuse is good enough for neglecting this important test.
I consider myself extremely blessed that no one I love has died from the terrible disease. We've had close encounters among my family and friends - lumpectomies, exploratory procedures, biopsies. That was enough to drive home the point that early detection and self-examination are mandatory.
Look at it this way. Most of us go to the dentist twice a year because we want to look good and keep our teeth. We aren't going to die if we get cavities but we go. Women faithfully keep weekly manicure and hair appointments. We spend thousands of dollars to puff up our body parts and look good on the outside. Yet we don't value our internal selves enough to go for a simple test once a year. For women over 40 ignoring a yearly mammogram could be a death sentence but on our way out we'll have nice skin, pretty toes and a flat stomachs from all those crunches. I hate to sound so dramatic but it's true.
Please take care of yourselves, ladies. Live to raise your children. Live to see your grandchild graduate from college. Live long enough to realize your dreams. One test, a mammogram, can greatly increase your odds of growing old in your honey's arms.
Do it..because you love yourself or at least because someone loves you.
