's motd Sunday Oct 17, 2010 - Breast Cancer Awareness

[Guest guest]

IN THE PINK

Sunday, 17 October 2010

Everywhere you look this month,

you'll see lots of pink ribbons. When I was walking

through the airport in Chicago a couple of weeks ago,

they were setting up a big display in the middle of my

concourse. The display included a five-foot pink

ribbon. And not only are you seeing those pink

ribbons in airports but you're seeing them in front of

hospitals, banks, shopping malls and even football

stadiums.

If you look through some magazines

this month, you'll also see many celebrities and top

designers wearing T-shirts or baseball caps with pink

ribbons on them. These pink ribbons serve a purpose.

And their purpose is to remind all of us that the

month of October is National Breast

Cancer Awareness Month.

There's a lady I simply adore at Slimmons who's been

taking class at the studio for years. One day,

several years ago, she came up to tell me that she'd

been diagnosed with breast cancer. I was very upset

to get her news and asked what she thought might have

brought on the cancer. She informed me that breast

cancer is often genetic. If it occurs in some of the

female members of your family, it increases

the possibility that you may get it as well. And,

unfortunately, the disease did run in my friend's

family.

She told me that she would soon be having surgery, to

be followed by chemotherapy treatments. And, because

of it, she would be missing from class for a while.

But she promised to return as soon as her treatments

were over.

I kept in touch with her while she

was away. And the good news is that they were able to

remove the cancer and her chemotherapy treatments went

very well. Oh, I can still remember the day she

walked back into Slimmons. I saw her come in and ran

up to give her a big, gentle hug as we cried in each

other's arms. I must admit and I told her...she

looked great! And the good news is she told

me that she felt great, too!

Earlier this month at Slimmons, there was a lady in

class celebrating being breast cancer free

for five years. And get this, she brought with her

several other ladies, each of them celebrating the

same victory. How fabulous is that?! And

oh, let me tell you, they were all beaming with smiles

and really sweat their way through our hour-long

workout. I was so proud and impressed with them!

Did you know that breast cancer is the most common

form of cancer in the United States? Each year,

200,000 new cases are diagnosed. And it's very sad to

say that 40,000 women lose their lives each year

to this disease. But the good news is that there're

about 2.5 million breast cancer survivors

living in the United States today. So, you see?

Breast cancer can be beaten and early

detection is key.

Now I have to talk about a delicate medical procedure

called a mammogram. You've all heard of

it. Most women don't particularly like having this

procedure done but...it's so important because mammograms

save lives. It's recommended that women begin,

at age 40, having a regular mammogram. But if you're

younger than 40, detect a lump in your breast, or find

yourself getting a tingly feeling in one of your

breasts that wasn't there before, you should see

your doctor immediately. She will surely want

to examine you further and maybe even recommend a

mammogram for you at this earlier age.

And by the way, if you're not doing a monthly

self-breast exam at home, please start. If

you're not sure how to do one, your doctor will be

more than happy to show you how to do it correctly.

Remember, breast cancer is not

just hereditary. There are women who don't have this

disease to run in their families but may still get

it. I couldn't provide you all of the information you

need to know about breast cancer in this short

message. That's why I'm providing this link to the National Breast

Cancer Awareness Month's Website. On

their website, they tell you that the first step

toward fighting this disease is information and

you'll find plenty of information about breast cancer,

early detection and treatment there.

So from now on this month, when you see those pink

ribbons around your town, you'll know what they mean.

And I just have to say to all of you strong and brave

breast cancer survivors out there...take a bow!

You deserve it!

Love,