October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. I have been a supporter of the campaigns for over 12 years now. I was very sad when Mary Onyango of the Kenya Breast Health Program lost her battler earlier this year against this dreaded disease. We have had some great fun with her and Ida Odinga and other top personalities in raising awareness for this cause!
So come the beginning of the month I changed my avis on facebook and started tweeting about it, in fact @thepinkmove also gave me a gift for being their follower. But I have to be honest, I was not practicing what I was preaching.
Since I had Ariyana I stopped doing the breast exams. The day after she was delivered I noticed a painful lump in my right underarm. Of course, I had just delivered a baby and emotions were all over the place that I started crying on detecting it thinking that I am going to die and that was the end of that. How irresponsible of me because with all the campaigning I have done for breast cancer, I was more educated than to just jump to a conclusion.
I ignored the lump and the pain and it went away. A few months ago I started getting another pain. This got me a bit concerned. I started seeing signs, people all around me were getting breast cancer friends, aunts, etc. I tried to get my mind off it and switched on the TV- my channel of choice was E! and saw that Gulianna Rancic had breast cancer and got through it and my mind just kept thinking the worst.
I was just scared. I did not want to go get it checked because knowing my luck, they would find something and it would be yet another challenge I had to face!
I spoke to two very good friends of mine who then pushed me to go see a doctor. They are the reason I am blogging about this subject. So my friend sets me up an appointment with a top breast specialist (or a breacialist as I like to call him). I get to the appointment with a huge lump in my throat.
I walk in and he shakes my hand saying he is so happy to finally meet me and that he knew my dad. Wow, could this get anymore awkward?
After the routine questionaire he then tells me that he is going to examine me. Right, so my late fathers pal is going to feel the boobies. Odd? I undress and lie down, he comes along and I look to the right, blink a lot and hold my breath. He goes on with his business and I am feeling super uncomfortable for two reasons; 1. because he is my dads friend and 2. because my dads friend is going to tell me I am going to die!
After what seems like an eternity he finishes and asks me to get dressed. He tells me that my breasts are rather lumpy (ati?) but this is normal for someone my age (for the record, that would be 16) and that all is ok and I have nothing to worry about.
Wow! What a relief. I am so happy I could kiss him, but then I had enough action for the day!
Point is - early detection can save lives and truth is, as my friends told me, I was worrying about nothing. Ladies, make sure you do check and look after yourself and your girls! Support the cause and the awareness campaigns, they are for a very good reason and the noise is made so that you can stop, take 20 minutes and get your boobies felt.
RIP Mary and to all the others who fought the fight...
Stay Pink this October - maridadi.com and suziebeauty.com have worthwhile causes you can support, log on to their sites and find out how.
Pinky xxo
So come the beginning of the month I changed my avis on facebook and started tweeting about it, in fact @thepinkmove also gave me a gift for being their follower. But I have to be honest, I was not practicing what I was preaching.
Since I had Ariyana I stopped doing the breast exams. The day after she was delivered I noticed a painful lump in my right underarm. Of course, I had just delivered a baby and emotions were all over the place that I started crying on detecting it thinking that I am going to die and that was the end of that. How irresponsible of me because with all the campaigning I have done for breast cancer, I was more educated than to just jump to a conclusion.
I ignored the lump and the pain and it went away. A few months ago I started getting another pain. This got me a bit concerned. I started seeing signs, people all around me were getting breast cancer friends, aunts, etc. I tried to get my mind off it and switched on the TV- my channel of choice was E! and saw that Gulianna Rancic had breast cancer and got through it and my mind just kept thinking the worst.
I was just scared. I did not want to go get it checked because knowing my luck, they would find something and it would be yet another challenge I had to face!
I spoke to two very good friends of mine who then pushed me to go see a doctor. They are the reason I am blogging about this subject. So my friend sets me up an appointment with a top breast specialist (or a breacialist as I like to call him). I get to the appointment with a huge lump in my throat.
I walk in and he shakes my hand saying he is so happy to finally meet me and that he knew my dad. Wow, could this get anymore awkward?
After the routine questionaire he then tells me that he is going to examine me. Right, so my late fathers pal is going to feel the boobies. Odd? I undress and lie down, he comes along and I look to the right, blink a lot and hold my breath. He goes on with his business and I am feeling super uncomfortable for two reasons; 1. because he is my dads friend and 2. because my dads friend is going to tell me I am going to die!
After what seems like an eternity he finishes and asks me to get dressed. He tells me that my breasts are rather lumpy (ati?) but this is normal for someone my age (for the record, that would be 16) and that all is ok and I have nothing to worry about.
Wow! What a relief. I am so happy I could kiss him, but then I had enough action for the day!
Point is - early detection can save lives and truth is, as my friends told me, I was worrying about nothing. Ladies, make sure you do check and look after yourself and your girls! Support the cause and the awareness campaigns, they are for a very good reason and the noise is made so that you can stop, take 20 minutes and get your boobies felt.
RIP Mary and to all the others who fought the fight...
Stay Pink this October - maridadi.com and suziebeauty.com have worthwhile causes you can support, log on to their sites and find out how.
Pinky xxo
