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Tag: breast cancer

Racing For the Cure

On Sunday, August 8th, I am running in Kansas City’s Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.  Those of you who know me well know that I am not a runner.  Not at all.  In fact, if you told my high school volleyball coach that I was about to run a 5K, I’m sure she would burst out laughing.  I nearly died every time we had to run during practices and I really haven’t made an effort to try again until this year.

I set out in January of 2010 with one goal – to run the Komen Race for the Cure.  I’ve wanted to participate for years but have never committed to it for one reason or another.  I always thought I would be walking it, but for some reason I decided I wanted to run it.  I started training in the Spring, giving myself plenty of time (so I thought) to be ready for a 5K by August.  I had a few setbacks along the way, but I’ve run more miles this year than I ever have in my life.

So why am I doing all this?  The Susan G. Komen Foundation is something I believe in.  I don’t know a single person in my life who hasn’t been touched by breast cancer.  Whether it be your own mother, grandmother, wife, aunt, cousin, niece, daughter, co-worker, friend, or friend-of-a-friend, everyone has had someone in their life that has dealt with this disease.  The best way to combat it at this point is early detection.  There are amazing people out there that are working toward a cure every day, but until we find it we must rely on early detection.  Funds raised from Race for the Cure are used to provide education, screening and treatment services for women in the Kansas City area.

By running in Race for the Cure, I feel like I’m doing my part to help provide these important services.  There aremany women in my life that have survived breast cancer, thanks to the treatments that are now available.  Wouldn’t it be great to know that there was a cure out there?  I would love to see it happen in my lifetime and we get closer and closer every day.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to know that our daughters and granddaughters would not have to live with the threat of this disease?

As of today, I am 62% of the way to my fund raising goal of $160.  I really want to meet that goal, and even surpass it if possible.  Nothing will motivate me more to run than knowing that I am making a difference.  Will you help me make a difference?  Can you donate $5, $10, $20?  Even a little bit will help me get closer to my goal.

If you’d like to donate online, please click the following link and fill in all of your information: Donate to Race For The Cure

If you would like to donate, but would prefer to write a check or pay in cash, please leave a comment with your e-mail address and I’ll get the proper information to you.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading this and for any donations you may send.  I couldn’t do this without the support of my friends and family.  I’m so lucky to have all of you in my life.

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I ♥ Faces – Pink Week

Pink_WeekThis week’s I ♥ Faces photo challenge is Pink Week to help spread Breast Cancer awareness.  I’ve written before about how important breast cancer awareness is to me.  My mom is a two time breast cancer survivor and she lives with the every day fear that it will come back and that it won’t be treatable the next time.  I’m not ready for that day to come either.

Beyond that, I don’t ever want to see another woman have to suffer through this illness.  The more aware we become, the closer we are to a cure.  Women need to know the steps to take for early detection.  Self exams are essential, as well as mammograms and regular check ups with your doctor.  But most importantly, women need to not be afraid.  We may not have a cure yet, but if caught early enough, treatments are very effective.

Ten years ago I didn’t know how long my mom would be around.  I didn’t know if she would ever see my children, or even if she would be around to see me truly grow up.  But she was a fighter.  She fought cancer not once, but twice.  Ten years later she has seen all three of her children get married and has six grandchildren to celebrate her life with.

This week’s I ♥ Faces challenge is dedicated to my mom.  Each year the office park where my mom and I work turns the fountain pink for October and I knew I wanted that to be a part of my photo.  Of course I also wanted to include my mom in the photo.  It didn’t turn out exactly the way I had it planned out in my mind, but this was the closest I got.

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Please be sure to check out some of the other photo entries this week. There are some amazing photos.

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Because Your Boobs Are Worth It

pinkribbonLast Friday I had an appointment with my OB/GYN.  It was just my regularly scheduled yearly exam to check all the girly bits so I didn’t think anything of it.  I had a few questions to ask her because of some pain I’ve been having that I though may be related to PCOS, but otherwise I’ve been pretty healthy since I’ve seen her last.

Just as I expected, everything turned out just fine.  Since I do have a history of having ovarian cysts and I’ve been having pain, she scheduled me for a pelvic ultrasound.  Then she brought up having a mammogram.  Most women don’t have their first mammogram until they are at least 35, sometimes 40.  But, with my mom’s history of breast cancer, my doctor wants to take all precautions and I’m totally fine with that.

My doctor had the nurse check with my insurance and she scheduled me for a mammogram on Monday.  I was expecting to have a little more time to prepare myself, but might as well just get it over with, right?  I wasn’t really nervous, but wasn’t exactly ready to get my boobs all squished and flattened either.

When Monday came along I headed over to the imaging clinic for my mammogram.  It wasn’t exactly pleasant, but it wasn’t the most horrible thing I’ve ever had to do either.  It was quite uncomfortable, well okay it hurt, but only for a few seconds at a time.  And then it was over.

The good news is that everything checked out just fine for me.  Now that I have my baseline done, it will be much easier in the future to detect any changes that might occur.  I’m glad that I got it done.  The next time it won’t be so bad because I’ll know exactly what to expect.

The bad news is that so many women don’t get mammograms.  Either they don’t have insurance and can’t afford it, or they just keep putting it off until it is too late.  The reality is that mammograms don’t catch everything, but having regular mammograms does greatly increase the chances of a lump being caught in time to do something about it and possibly save your life.  That makes the pain a little more worth it, don’t you think?

Coincidentally, I received an e-mail on Monday from my friend Amy telling me that she is again participating in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on September 20th.  On top of providing education and mammogram screenings for uninsured and under-insured women, the Komen foundation is the largest private funder of breast cancer research in the world.

Even though money is pretty much always tight these days, I try to squeeze out a little each year to donate to Race for the Cure.  Not only am I supporting a cause I absolutely believe in, I also get to support the fund-raising efforts of one of my very best friends.  If you would like to help, you can donate to the Portland Race for the Cure through Amy’s page.  If you do, I’d love for you to leave a comment or send me an e-mail to let me know.

And by all means ladies, get those mammograms.  It just may save your life.

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