It's a few days early for bazooms blogging, but I just got back from my mammogram, ten years to the day after being diagnosed with breast cancer. My boobs are, I'm happy to report, "perfect, A+" in the doctor's words. (OK, she was only looking at films, but they're not bad at all in the flesh, either!)
So today seems like a perfect day to remind everyone that breast self-exams (BSEs), along with an annual mammogram, can save lives. BSEs are easy to do. Here's how.
Women, send the kids to your mother-in-laws, tell your husband to pick up dinner, forget about whatever chores you think that you "have" to do and go give yourself a BSE. When you're done, have a lovely cup of tea, take a nap, do some yoga to your favorite music, do something (else!) nice for yourself.
Men, are there women you'd miss if they died from breast cancer? A lover, wife, sister, mother, aunt, daughter, friend? Remind them to do a BSE and see what you can do to give them the 15 minutes or so that it takes.
Hecate,
ReplyDelete:)
Congratulations on being cancer free!
I have mammograms every six months, now, due to calcifications. I had an ultrasound earlier this month, which detected a small *something* where a calcification used to be on the mammo (it mysteriously disappeared on the mammo in August).
I'm having a Vacora biopsy next Friday.
I'm not too worried about it, because I'm hooked up with a fantastic breast surgeon who is committed to finding and eliminating breast cancer before it moves beyond Stage 1.
So thanks for this post.
I have admired and adored you for lo these many years, now. You are one awesome woman, and an inspiration for all that is good.
HAPPY BAZOOMS!
ReplyDeleteYippee! Although I hoped for exactly this, I still got choked up reading the good news.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations!
bartender! very large scotches all around!
ReplyDelete[i will be content with a distilled water]
Very, very excellent, Hecate.
ReplyDeleteEternal vigilance and all that. But very, very excellent all the while.
/GWPDA
My wife has a friend of 30 yrs standing who has been diagnosed with a stage 3 tumor. Surgery was today.
ReplyDeleteShe had wanted to go to Sloan-Kettering, but they don't take her insurance. She would have had to come up with 30% of the cost.
Fox-Chase in Philly had a two-week wait for an appointment.
The market takes care of everything, right?
Hecate,
ReplyDeleteCongrats! Yippeee! Dance, dance, dance!
The doctors down here seem to want people to start mammograms at 35. I decided it was too young for me personally.
I get yearly professional palpations and thanks to your beautiful monthly reminders and the link, I am trying to do monthly BSE's. (While nothing ever seems off, I can never tell if anything is the same or different. So I trust I will know.) Thanks again for your love and service.
deb