Breast Cancer Awareness - Remember and Celebrate!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. This month has flown by without me even being able to sit down and address this serious topic. I think almost everyone in this day and time has had the unfortunate opportunity to know someone affected by this terrible disease.

I have had numerous women I have looked up to through the years who have been diagnosed with this vicious disease. I am grateful to have these women in my life and am blessed to say that all of them are survivors! Pam, was my mentor through high school. She loved, and still loves, me unconditionally despite my faults and insecurities. Edie and her husband were great leaders in our church and took over as our family ministers shortly before we moved. It wasn't until after we moved that she was diagnosed, but prayer does not know state lines. Thank God for that! The other woman was my head pastor's wife, Elnora, who saw me grow up - literally! I watched these women of faith walk through these days with such grace, strength and faith. They are all in remission which is amazing!

In my life I have had two incredible family members who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. One is a survivor and the other unfortunately lost her battle. My grandma, Marie Kilcrease, unfortunately was diagnosed too late. My grandmother lived a long and adventurous life, which in my opinion was still cut too short, but she still lived well into her 80's. Watching a once vibrant woman slowly be eaten away with disease was heart breaking. No one should have to go through that and no family should have to watch disease consume the family member they love.

The survivor in our family is my Aunt Marcia. She is married to my wonderful Uncle Lou and mother to my cousin April. The diagnosis was a shock to our family and especially to her immediate family. She was extremely health conscious and lead a very active life. To my knowledge, there was no family history of the disease either. She used both traditional and non-traditional remedies in her fight against this terrible disease. We can now say she is in remission and doing extremely well.

My cousin, April, who is a freelance writer (who is probably seeing numerous grammatical errors on this blog) documented parts of her mother's journey. One of her articles appeared in the New York Times. I have placed the link to the article below.

New York Times

Another link in case the one above doesn't work:
April Kilcrease - Mills College Profile

The whole reason I am writing this is to (1) - Honor the women in my life who have been affected by this disease. Putting a face to this disease makes it real!
(2) Encourage you to see your doctor if you haven't done so recently. (3) Self examinations can save your life. You know your body better than anyone. If you notice something that isn't right, go to the doctor. Early detection is life changing!

Breast cancer awareness does not just stop on November 1st. This is a 365 day awareness campaign.