The Power Of Knowing…October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

People talk about communication among friends, partners, spouses, & of course within yourself. Knowing your body I think is the most important of them all. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month & it is ever so important that you go to your annual ob-gyn doctor & your scheduled mammograms or sonograms. Early detection saves lives. No ifs, ands, or buts. I don’t have cancer but I’ve had breast health issues in the past so I’m going to share with you my lil story.

I have fibroidic cystic disease. I can’t count my blessings enough that the lumps in my right breast wound up only being fibroids but I didn’t know that for years. I noticed I had a small lump in my right breast somewhere back in high school but I thought it might have been a muscle knot. I was a cheerleader & then did field events in Track. I was very active & had a D-cup set of breasts. Maybe it was a hernia? Maybe it would go away, I thought. It didn’t. Women’s bodies change as you all know. Our breasts change sizes, our weight goes up & down, our time of the month cycles sometimes get wonky, etc…The lump was now 2 lumps, & then 3. Of course I began to freak out for most of my days that I had cancer. They kept getting bigger & bigger but I was too afraid to go to the doctor. That “What if” kept me from telling anyone. One day when I was 22 I had to go to the doctor. The lumps were starting to feel weird & mis-shapen.

I never thought my first sonogram would be for my breast. We found a doctor who’s name ironically was “Faith”. Yup that was her name. She let me cry the first time I had my appointment to find out what they were. The term “Fibroid” was new to me.  The lumps were either fibroids or cysts. After a biopsy, which was painful not going to lie, they determined that they were not cancer but fibroids. The days leading up to the surgery were hard. I had never had an invasive surgery like this so naturally I was upset. I didn’t know if they had remove some of my breast or if they would be easy to remove. Luckily, I had a Faith the doctor and she helped me through it all. My mom & my aunt took me that day & I cried only a lil when it all hit me. But it went well, better than I could ever have imagined. The nurses were so kind to me & it worked.

Two years later the scar from the surgery looks only like a small stretch mark. About 6 months ago I discovered I had another fibroid in the same breast. After having my gall bladder removed last October this one was easier & luckily it was a fibroid as well. I have changed my diet to accommodate this fibroidic cystic disease & pray I won’t find another one. If I find something odd I go to the doctor, immediately.

 What is the point of me sharing this?  The point is that I did the SELF-BREAST EXAMS & I went to the DOCTOR. I couldn’t live in fear anymore & I somehow found the courage to find out what the lumps were. Finding a lump isn’t always cancer but discovering cancer in its early stages is the best way to find a cure or help you. In 2010, there are more than 2.5 MILLION breast cancer SURVIVORS in the U.S.. That’s amazing.

One day we will hopefully find a cure, until then there are cancer walks, saving the Yoplait lids, wearing the pins for breast cancer awareness, sharing your breast health stories & remember Early Detection Saves Lives. I can’t say that enough. For more information check out all the breast cancer sites. Don’t be afraid to look or ask questions. Best wishes everyone. <3.