First of all, I finished Breaking Dawn in 8 days! I really liked the series but have to say the last entry started to really reach for me. I was really hoping for a good fight scene. (sorry for no spoiler warning!)
I was stuck in the airport Monday (after visiting and helping mom...see below) so I picked up Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire (wrote Wicked the novel not the Broadway musical, although equally good!) I'll have to get the O pick later.
Anyway, the title of this post isn't my rants and raves for Breaking Dawn!
MY MOTHER IS A WARRIOR!
I know the big O talked to Jeni McCarthy about mother warriors and all but what about the women that are just plain WARRIORS??!!
Six years ago my mother called to tell me she had a biopsy and the results came back positive for breast cancer. Truly a scary time. She has a lumpectomy and radiation and is doing great for the next five years.
Then she calls to tell me they finally sold the house after over a year on the market (no small feat in the Florida economy either) and they would finally be moving to Georgia. YEAH! Our conversation after that went something like this:
A: So, Mom, when will you officially be in peachy Georgia, I innocently ask.
M: When I get an "issue" taken care of.
A: Oh, yeah, what issue is that?
M: The breast cancer is back.
A: WHAT???!?!?!?
The time to take complete care of the "issue" is still being calculated. All I can say now is my Mom is a warrior and deserves a frickin' medal or something! She's gone through a surgery to remove the rest of her breast and will undergo reconstruction at a future date. Not many people would go through everything she has. I'm so very proud of her and admire her for the courage she is showing in this battle.
Do yourself a favor do a breast self exam every month. There has been recent research to show that Breast Self Exams (BSE) don't lower death rates, I know. But if every woman did one regularly, she would know what is normal and not normal for her breasts! Doctors do not spend enough time examining patients breasts during the yearly exam. If you have a question, ask your doctor! Don't stop until you get an answer!!!
Also, ask about your family history of breast cancer and other cancers. Talk to your doctor about it. Be your own best advocate! Don't let a doctor tell you not to worry about it....EVER!
If you do have a history of breast cancer DEMAND a mammogram as soon as possible. A baseline at 35 is best. I'll be asking for another one now that my own mother has had a recurrence!
We have seriously reached a point where the question won't be how did a person die but what cancer did the deceased have!!! We cannot let this continue. We have to find a way to stop it NOW!!
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Tell your Mom that she IS a warrior and we love her! Also, another side note is that there is also another form of breast cancer called Inflammatory Breast Cancer that CANNOT be detected by monthly self exams or by mammograms. It actually starts by looking like a bug bite on your breast and is very much mis-disagnosed. Google it and you can get the details. Lots of love to you and your Mom!!!!
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