Breast Cancer Awareness: Taking it Personally

It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month and I’m not asking you to buy or wear pink ribbons. Or pink hats or pink tee shirts or pink wristbands. I’m not asking you to post a strange status to your Facebook profile. I’m not asking for donations or for you to hang your bra out the window. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Whether or not you do any of those things, I hope you do something else to make it a little more personal.

You can start by checking your breasts. It doesn’t matter if you’re a woman or a man, or what age or race you are. Whether you have a family history of cancer or not, make good lifestyle choices or not … you should still be familiar with your own body so you recognize unusual changes and can act upon that knowledge.

There’s been a lot of controversy in recent years about the benefits and potential risks of mammograms, and even over the usefulness of self breast exams. Like many of my fellow breast cancer patients, I discovered my own breast lump. It certainly doesn’t hurt to perform a self breast exam.

You can vow to make any number of lifestyle changes to help prevent cancer of all types. Vow not to smoke, to improve your diet, to get more exercise. Make one change for the better today.

Do it for yourself. Do it for the people who love you. Do it in the true spirit of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Take it personally.

Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Profiles
Carmelita P: Grieving Son Recounts Mom’s Battle with Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Nancy Steiler: Searching for “Normal” After Cancer
Eileen Z. Fuentes: Living with a Grateful Vibration
Meagan Farrell: Cancer Survivor Says “Let Go of the Little Stuff”
Melissa Stukenborg: When Worst Fear Becomes Reality, Find Your Inner Strength
Related Profile: Alyssa Phillips: Inspiration, Survivor, Miracle: An Amazing Life

Image copyright: istockphoto.com

Ann Pietrangelo is the author of “No More Secs! Living, Laughing & Loving Despite Multiple Sclerosis.” She is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and a regular contributor to Care2 Healthy & Green Living and Care2 Causes. Follow on Twitter @AnnPietrangelo

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Winn A.

4:28PM PDT on May 6, 2012

Thanks

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Elisabeth T.

6:14AM PDT on Mar 21, 2012

Thanks for this article..

Julija S.

1:26AM PDT on Nov 1, 2011

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Brenda T.

3:27AM PDT on Oct 21, 2011

Waiting for the biopsy results is a worrying time.

Svetlana B.

1:51PM PDT on Oct 18, 2011

Good article, thanks Ann

Danuta W.

12:56AM PDT on Oct 18, 2011

thanks for the article

Quanta K.

3:20AM PDT on Oct 13, 2011

noted

monka b.

2:55PM PDT on Oct 12, 2011

nevertheless: think positive, try to meditate. I know a woman who is cured from cancer - and she believes it's because of her positive thinking! The doc's believe it's like a miracle
;stating that she did most of it on her own. I don't wanna give false hope, but keep on believing in yourself !! Bare that in mind, you do nothing wrong.

Harry L.

1:29PM PDT on Oct 12, 2011

IT'S BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH, AND I JUST READ THE CARE2 ARTICLE, BREAST CANCER AWARENESS--TAKING IT PERSONALLY> IT IS A GOOD ARTICLEAND MAKES A GOOD POINT IN TELLING WOMEN AND MEN TO PERFORM BREAST SELF- EXAMINATION. ALSO IT SAYS TO QUIT SMOKING, WATCH YOUR DIET, AND GET MORE EXERCISE TO PREVENT CANCERS OF ALL KINDS. THANKS FOR THE ARTICLES!!!!