Taking Care of You!
Posted by Lisa Hendey in Health on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 9:00 AM
During the month of October, you’ll likely be seeing a lot of pink, owing to the fact that today marks the start of October as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Given that I’m the “old lady” of the Faith and Family Live blogging team, I’m guessing that a lot of you reading this haven’t yet experienced the joy of your first mammogram and may be thinking to yourselves that you can just skip this post and move along in your reading.
I’d like to ask you to pause though, and take a few moments to think about breast cancer and how to care for yourself and your family. According to statistics on the NBCAM website, an estimated 178,480 women were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007. Of those diagnosed, an estimated 40,460 women lost their lives to breast cancer in 2007. So many of us have a mother, a sister, or a friend who has been impacted by breast cancer.
Because I have a family history of breast cancer, I had my first mammogram before I turned 35. I’m going to share with you that I’ve been a slacker when it comes to getting the annual mammograms my doctor routinely prescribes. I’ve used the “I’m too busy” excuse, the “It hurts too much” excuse and even the “I forgot” excuse. Pretty dumb, when it’s clearly shown that mammography screening is the best available method to detect breast cancer early, thereby maximizing treatment and cure potential.
So this month, in honor National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and because I love my family, I’m treating myself to my annual mammogram. Along with this routine screening, I am going to really focus this month on decreasing some of my risk factors for breast cancer by staying physically active, decreasing my fat intake and increasing my intake of fiber, and making fresh fruits and vegetables the stars of my meals.
Care to join me? We owe it to our families to take care of ourselves spiritually, emotionally and physically.
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