Drive-by art posting and wee PSA
I promise not to harangue my lovely f-list with this stuff - but I want to put in my small but meaningful plug for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month... which is, uh, this month. *points at shiny new October icon* I'm not sure if this is an observation that is held in other countries but here in the U.S. suddenly the shelves are filled with pink-colored EVERYTHING. It's become a bit of a family joke to point out some of the surprisingly amusing pink items - like the pink cookware set I saw the other day, and the pink Cuisinart. We laugh, but I do buy some of these things -I bought breast cancer wine the other day! woot! My daughter was joking about how they'll probably sell pink tampons too, which is ironic since most b.c. patients don't need those anymore. :)
Of course there are a multitude of good causes to support, and it's difficult at best to weigh them against each other, so I don't. I just do what I can do and try to support whenever I can. Money for the elusive sounding "research" seems so suspect, but I can tell you first hand that the research on b.c. is ongoing and constantly changing the treatments that are currently being used. It's difficult to explain the overwhelming position of being a cancer patient, but the options presented to you for treatment are seldom black and white. It's all about research numbers and statistics. And very often, those change. But the options I've had are better (in terms of survivor rate statistics) than women diagnosed even a few short years prior to me.
Anyway, a lot of the cause is just to keep the public awareness going and not to say this cancer or that cancer is any worse, they're ALL bad. This one happens to be the number one cancer affecting women, and the number two killer of women (lung is first). I lost a good friend last year to this disease, and I still think about her all the time. Working in women's health care, I can't get away from it, but in the long run, it's a good thing for me, I think. I'm still not at a point where I can go a day without thinking about it and fighting back the mental demons, and I'm actually one of the lucky once, so far. The physical disfiguring is almost the easier part of being a survivor. I have another MRI coming up later this month that I'm seriously dreading, but I'll go, because I'm fortunate to have this healthcare available to me. And I'll stop being such a baby about it. :-/
You don't have to give, or buy any pink appliances *g*, but please be aware. Please do self-exams EVERY MONTH, right after your periods - my tumor was found on self-exam and not on mammogram. Once you are of age, get your mammograms, they don't find all the tumors (thankyouverymuch) but they do find most of them.
That's all I ask. :)
Love, Me.
Of course there are a multitude of good causes to support, and it's difficult at best to weigh them against each other, so I don't. I just do what I can do and try to support whenever I can. Money for the elusive sounding "research" seems so suspect, but I can tell you first hand that the research on b.c. is ongoing and constantly changing the treatments that are currently being used. It's difficult to explain the overwhelming position of being a cancer patient, but the options presented to you for treatment are seldom black and white. It's all about research numbers and statistics. And very often, those change. But the options I've had are better (in terms of survivor rate statistics) than women diagnosed even a few short years prior to me.
Anyway, a lot of the cause is just to keep the public awareness going and not to say this cancer or that cancer is any worse, they're ALL bad. This one happens to be the number one cancer affecting women, and the number two killer of women (lung is first). I lost a good friend last year to this disease, and I still think about her all the time. Working in women's health care, I can't get away from it, but in the long run, it's a good thing for me, I think. I'm still not at a point where I can go a day without thinking about it and fighting back the mental demons, and I'm actually one of the lucky once, so far. The physical disfiguring is almost the easier part of being a survivor. I have another MRI coming up later this month that I'm seriously dreading, but I'll go, because I'm fortunate to have this healthcare available to me. And I'll stop being such a baby about it. :-/
You don't have to give, or buy any pink appliances *g*, but please be aware. Please do self-exams EVERY MONTH, right after your periods - my tumor was found on self-exam and not on mammogram. Once you are of age, get your mammograms, they don't find all the tumors (thankyouverymuch) but they do find most of them.
That's all I ask. :)
Love, Me.