Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

It’s October! Here in the North Eastern United States we are breaking out sweaters and crunching through the falling leaves. Pumpkin spice is everywhere and everyone is gearing up for the end-of-the-month sugar high.

As with every month, there is a list of all the things we celebrate and try to be aware of. A few include: Adopt a Shelter Dog, AIDS Awareness, Apple Month, Down Syndrome Awareness Month, National Field Trip Month, and Learn to Bowl Month.

For the past several years, I have celebrated Breast Cancer Awareness Month. BBC, or Before Breast Cancer, I half-heartedly celebrated. As a nurse, I encouraged people to do monthly self-breast exams, to see their primary care providers regularly for breast checkups, and to make sure to have mammograms done as necessary.

I did not practice what I taught. I did only occasional self-exams. I did not see my provider on a yearly basis. And, at the time, did not feel I needed to have a mammogram until I was older. At that time, guidelines encouraged you to start at the age of 50, but due to research showing a 2 percent increase in early breast cancer every year from 2015 to 2019, the guidelines are changing.

Looking back, with hindsight being 20/20, I wish I had done those easy preventative measures. My breast cancer journey would have been a little shorter and smoother. But, as Mama Doctor Jones always says, “We do the best we can with the information that we have.”

I weighed my risks and made those decisions. I was young, healthy, and had no family history of breast cancer. My only real risk factor: I was overweight.

Working as a RN while undergoing breast cancer treatment

Currently, I am 3 years post-treatment and have been cancer-free for the same amount of time. I don’t go all out to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but I do more than I used to. I like to purchase special cookies for my co-workers. I tend to write blog posts about my personal cancer journey. I also post encouragement to check your breasts and breast cancer information on social media.