Breast Cancer Awareness Month
A couple of summers ago, I remember waking up in the middle of the night to a knock on my bedroom door. Still half asleep, I rolled over to see my mom standing in the doorway. Sadness consumed her facial expression, and a knot immediately formed in my stomach. I knew something was wrong. She continued to walk towards me, without making any eye contact. As she laid down next to me, I knew that what she was about to say was not good news.
After taking a deep breath, my mom informed me that a lump found in her breast was indeed breast cancer. Immediately after hearing the word “cancer,” I broke down in tears, unaware of what the future would hold for my mom and our family. In a matter of seconds, my world was turned upside down. I quickly remembered a few other mothers of kids my age, whose mothers also had breast cancer. Some lost their hair from chemo, some were cured and deemed survivors, and others were not as lucky. Needless to say, I did not get any sleep that night after hearing my mom’s life-changing news.
A year had passed, along with a couple of surgeries to remove the cancer from my mom. Every doctor’s appointment and checkup seemed to be more and more hopeful, and in October of 2015, my mom finished treatment. The cancer was gone, and she was a survivor. That month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, my mom was cancer free.
That summer was one summer that I will never forget for as long as I live. Hearing the deadly word “cancer” come out of my loving mom’s mouth was one of the hardest things for me to accept. Ever since this event, I have taken into consideration how important it is to raise awareness for breast cancer through early detection, such as, frequent mammograms, as well as being aware of risk factors like, age, family history, genetics, and childbearing and menstrual history.
I never thought that breast cancer would have an impact on my family or my life, until it happened. Luckily for my mom, her cancer was detected early on so that doctors were able to remove the cancer before it spread. Don’t wait until it’s too late, raise awareness for breast cancer awareness now. Host a bake sale to raise money for breast cancer research, participate in a walk/run to fundraise and raise awareness, or simply be aware of risk factors and signs of early detection. Take care of yourself and your breasts.
Happy Breast Cancer Awareness Month!