PSA

I have been meaning to write this post for a little while... it's the Public Service Announcement for self-breast exams. I can't take the credit for it - when I told my sister the news a few weeks back I wanted to make sure she took care of herself and did what she could to reduce her risk.

Her response?

"I know, I know, 'Touch your boobies!'"

And I do believe she made it her mission to let her friends know that it's very important for them to touch their boobies, too :-)

Most of us females have seen that pink placard that goes in the shower, showing the breasts and the arrows that's supposed to show us how to do a self-exam. That's all well and good, I never did them quite regularly for two main reasons...

First, they take a while! The placard suggests doing it in the shower because it's easier to move your hands over the tissue, but if you're anything like me you don't have that kind of time in the morning. If you do it right, it would probably take 5-10 minutes, and that's an extra 10 minutes I could be sleeping (or it's 10 extra minutes of running water running right down the drain for us hippies). So, my suggestion is to do it on a lazy Sunday morning in bed. I think you can get a better sense of things when you're lying down anyway.

Second, quite sadly, I never thought it made a difference. At one point I read an article on CNN.com that claimed there was no statistical benefit to performing self-exams. I can't recall if it said there was no statistical difference in detection, survival, or what, but that article gave me an excuse that I could tell myself when I didn't feel like doing it. I think that was a mistake. Luckily, I did still check every so often, and I did find the lump. However, if I had been more regular in my self-exams, I may have found it sooner. But I'm not beating myself up about it, because maybe it wouldn't have made a difference. Due to my age, the cells do grow much more rapidly, so it's possible it went from undetectable to detectable quite fast.

So, that's my PSA. When you think about the 10 minutes it may take and what it could save you, it's worth it. And even if there's no statistical benefit to doing self-exams, we all know that there are exceptions, and my case is one of those exceptions - it made a difference to me. So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE - Touch Your Boobies, and when you do please think of me :-)

With that, I wanted to post a picture of me wearing my two most recent gifts. My sister knit me a scarf with boobies on it. Yes, that's right - boobies (I drew the line at the nipples - I told her not to knit those on that's just weird). I'm also wearing a t-shirt that Sarah gave me today with the words "Fight Like a Girl" printed on it. I can't wait to wear it to work! Every time you see me wear either one of these pieces you will remember my PSA. Take a good look at the hair because this week it's supposed to be gone!


P.S. Sarah and I ran 4 miles today - I am crossing my fingers and hoping that I will be ready to visit Jocelyn in Chicago at the end of May for the 5k through the zoo. I can't wait!!!