My boobs like to play tricks on me.
They were all glorious and perky until I had kids, then they died. From firm melons to sweaty cold cuts left in the sun a bit too long.
I’ve always done my breast self-exams in the shower to make sure everything is great. Everything was, until my family medical history went down the cancer toilet.
Not long after my father died of cancer and my mom was diagnosed with cancer, I discovered most of my father’s siblings had had cancer, as well as one niece.
So I went in for my 1st mammogram at age 34, just to be safe.
They found something. So we had to probe deeper.
They did some more digging and discovered it was just the landscape of that breast. But still, I had to go back in for another mammogram 6 months later, then a year.
At the year, I had an odd sensation in the other breast. That one decided to give me trouble, too.
In the end, it’s just how they are. They like to scare me (my breasts can be assholes like that). It wasn’t cancer.
But I stay on top of it. Them. I still do my exams. I know how awful cancer can be, so I take it seriously.
I have people who love me – including myself – and we all deserve for me to prioritize my health.
This week at InThePowderRoom.com we’re all talking about breasts, in honor of International Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
I decided that I’ve written so much about the stressful part of mammograms, ultrasounds, Breast Specialists, being scared, being hopeful, that I’d bring a lightness to the topic.
CLICK HERE to see why I think bra shopping is
the Witness Protection Program for Boobs.
(you might want to bring a notebook & pen to count the number of
synonyms I have for the words “breasts.” Oh yeah, I got creative)
Then don’t forget to do your monthly breast self-exam, and talk to your doctor about when the right time is for you to get a mammogram.
Your Fun Bags deserve to stay healthy, and so do you.
Ummm….yeah, like totally digging this! Like far too many, I was diagnosed with aggressive stage 3 breast cancer 2 yrs ago. After a rough year of treatment, I am now an additional yr to the good! Thanks for the message and for delivering it in such a “creative” way. All the “pink” talk this month is more than good but at times I think the message gets suffocated out by all the “pink”. Guess you can tell I’m not a fan of pink. LOL! Off to read your post about harnesses for our milk bags!
Congratulations on kicking cancer ass! Keep up the good work. And thanks for sharing.
Thanks for posting! I like Boobies! Keep them healthy to keep the wonderful women they are attached to alive. My MIL fought the good fight and lost, but there are others who can win. And remember BREAST CANCER HAS NOT BEEN CURED! People still die form it EVERY. DAY.
ilikebeerandbabies.com recently posted..I’m Not Pregnant. I’m Just fat.
I’m sorry about your MIL.
It shocks me how few people don’t do self-exams. It’s so easy & quick & helpful. I want to stick around, so I’m going to stay on top of my health.
(Hangs head shamefully) I may just have my OB feel me up once a year and call it a day. I KNOW! I KNOW!
ilikebeerandbabies.com recently posted..I’m Not Pregnant. I’m Just fat.
Mark your calendar: every month on your birthday feel ‘em up.
It’s always a good thing to keep on top of it.
I had to have my 1st mammogram when I was 30 because my mother had (and beat) breast cancer at 33.
I have fibrocystic boobs, so they’re naturally lumpy. Every time I get felt up by a new doctor, they always raise an eyebrow or two.
Tricky, indeed.
Lady Estrogen recently posted..Scratch is for suckers!
Yes, I love the quiet technicians looking at the weirdness in my boobs and trying to keep a neutral face.
Fibrocystic disease sucks! Painful, lumpy boobs all the time. I had two different radiologists tell me I had the worse fibrocystic disease they had ever seen (if you can’t set a good example, then set a realllllly bad one, I always say). Stay vigilant! One of my lumps turned out to be Stage 1 cancer. Good news? Bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction means no more lumpy, painful boobies! Silver lining!
Dyanne recently posted..Randomly Rambling
Silver lining, indeed. Stay healthy, Dyanne! Thanks for sharing.
My husband does my breast exams, since I always forget. He likes doing it. Especially in the shower with all the slippery bubbles. Weird, huh?
Kristen Mae recently posted..Idiots With Viable Uteruses and Why I Want to Learn Korean
So strange…I…I can’t figure out why he’d like that? Hmmm…
Pingback: Summing Up My Week… (10/14-10/21/12) | Let Me Start By Saying…