The journey of growing from young children to adolescents includes many “talks”. The earliest talk I remember is one with my mom around the age of 6/7. It was a talk about whether anyone had ever touched me inappropriately. We had another regarding kidnapping about never talking to strangers and never taking candy from strangers. Some of you have probably heard of or had the “bird and the bees talk”. Nonetheless, every year during the month of October, I remember one distinct talk I had with my mom. I remember walking in on my mom feeling her breasts while laying down in her bed. I assume she noticed me watching and began to tell me that she was feeling for cancerous lumps. She continued to talk to me and teach me about how to look for the signs and how to examine myself. You see, this month for me is to not only bring awareness to breast cancer, but I remember the “talk” and the stories of all of the women in my family who were diagnosed with breast cancer and their individual journeys. Breast cancer is very common amongst my mother’s side of the family. During this month, I especially remember my grandmother on my father’s side, who developed breast cancer and died before I had an opportunity to meet her. It is painful to know so many of my relatives have suffered from this. It is even more of a shocking reality that because of this, many women in my family and, I too, have increased risks of developing breast cancer. I’ve known this since I was a young girl and I have always watched for the signs thanks to my mom. I cannot lie, her teachings are one of the main reasons I’ve consistently checked all these years. I also check mostly out of fear and it would not surprise me if many other women in my family did it for this same reason. It is almost disheartening to think about. However, I feel it should be normalized and should be taught to young girls as soon as they begin to develop breasts. I believe my mom did right by me and I would have done the same If I were a mom.
Allow me to have the “talk” with you. Here are the signs to look for. Remember to never be ashamed to examine yourself. Self-examinations could very well save your life if it came to this, God forbid. Also, it is normal to be afraid whether you have been diagnosed with breast cancer or not but remember you are not alone either way. We are truly in this together!
- Change in the size of one’s breast
- Tenderness of the breast/nipple
- Swelling in the armpit
- The presence of a abnormal breast lump
- Chafing or flaking of the breast skin
- Pain or tingling sensation of the breast