My Breat Cancer Awarness PSA!

Get Smooshed, Get Squished
Get Scanned!

Well ladies, I guess it is time for me to make a very important Public Service Announcement in regards to the importance of doing our self breast exams monthly to look for anything abnormal along with getting your mammogram done when the time comes to do so.  But let's face it, how many of us do this monthly?  Or even more than once or twice a year?  Well it is time to get with the program ladies and start FEELING YOUR BOOBIES!

 

When I was in my twenties, I found a fair sized lump in my left breast.  At the time, I was in nursing school and we had been learning about Breast Cancer and how important it is to teach women how to do self breast exams.  So I went home that night after class and low and behold, I had a lump!  Now I knew my lump was more than likely just a cyst because of certain characteristics that it had, but I still didn't want to take any chances so I called my OB and got an appointment as soon as possible.  This lead to me being sent to a breast specialist who in turn found several lumps on both of my breast (although I could still only feel the one).  So at the age of 26 I had my first breast ultrasound and mammogram.  Luckily, it turned out that the lumps were just Fibrocystic Breast changes. 

 

So over the years I have monitored this particular lump in addition to looking for any other unusual changes that might be there.  And I have had repeat mammograms since then.  The most recent being this past Tuesday.  It had been about 11 or so years since my last mammogram so my doctor scheduled me for one and an ultrasound as well to check on the lump that I have had for the past 14 years.  So I go in with the anticipation of them looking at the lump and saying that it is still just a cyst and that all is well.  WELL SURPRISE!  Not only does this cyst now look different and more suspicious, the mammogram actually found an even more suspicious looking area on my right breast.  Even I could see this little white spot that kinda looked like a fuzzy star and know that it didn't belong there.  So then it was off for my ultrasound, of which I was only scheduled to have the left on done to check the previous lump.  But the technician immediately started out with my right breast.  So okay, now I am totally aware that something just isn't right here.  When it came time to look at the left one I could see right away that it was no longer a nearly perfectly round cyst looking area, but now looked looked more like a cluster of little ones together. 

 

So in about a week I will be heading back in to the clinic to have a bilateral breast biopsies done on these areas to see what they are.  I can honestly tell you that I am a bit worried that I will get the dreaded "C" diagnosis.  But I am trying to just go about my days until I get the results without stressing over it too much.   So if you can, please say an extra prayer for me and my family each night that everything will be normal with the biopsies.

 

So there you go ladies, that is my story and it just goes to show you that you can never be too safe when it comes to your health.  As mothers, we all seem to put aside our own health care in order to care for our husbands and children.  I know, because I am very guilty of doing this myself.  But I have to say that we need to start focusing some that energy that we give to our families to ourselves.  It isn't selfish in the very least to do so, it is just a little preventative maintenance that has to be done.  Because let's face it, if we don't take care of ourselves then who will?  So that being said, I have just one word of advice to leave each and every one of you with: