Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Oh How Aware I Am!

By: Laura Furman Soper

Five years ago, my life took a dramatic turn. My world came crashing down on that crystal clear October day. I remember it vividly--sitting in my gynecologist's office in a dark leather chair waiting for the results of my breast biopsy. My doctor had reassured me that the tiny lump I found was probably nothing. It did not look like cancer on the mammogram, and the biopsy was just to be sure. I was a little nervous, but I honestly did not think it would be anything serious. It felt odd being in her office as I had never been in it before. This doctor had delivered my third baby just a few years before, but I had only seen her in the examination rooms. Just looking at the formality of the office made me suspicious that my results might not be what they had thought they would be. I sat in the stiff brown leather chair growing a little more anxious until my doctor walked quickly into the room and sat down. She wasted no time and got straight to the point. She immediately said, "It is cancer."  After that, I am not really sure what was said. My head started swirling with shock, confusion and disbelief, and I felt as if I had been kicked in the stomach. “This can’t be happening,” I thought. “I am only 39, and I have three young children who need me.” So began my arduous journey of what seemed like a thousand miles...

It is hard to believe that it has been five years since I was diagnosed with cancer. Time has a funny way of getting all jumbled up, the more of it that goes by. Every October, though, I am bombarded with reminders of breast cancer everywhere in the form of pink ribbons, pink shirts, pink socks and the list goes on. You can't walk into a grocery store, watch a football game on TV, or go workout at the gym without seeing a virtual sea of pink. I couldn't be much more aware than I am now. I think about breast cancer every day in some form or fashion—not just in October.  It is part of who I am. I have been through the trenches of nerve-wracking scans, painful surgeries, debilitating chemotherapy, and daily radiation. Even now, years later, I am still taking daily preventative medication and have oncologist check ups every six months. You are never really “done” with cancer.

Prior to 2010 seeing pink ribbons in October did not mean much to me personally, and it did not spur me to take ownership of my breast health. Breast Cancer Awareness month made me think of breast cancer more often on a superficial level, but unconsciously I felt that it was an older person’s disease so I didn’t really need to worry about it. Just being aware of the disease is not enough to win the battle against it. Regardless of our age, we must be vigilant and proactive in regards to our breast health. It was only when a friend from high school was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 38 did I perform a breast exam on myself. I was shocked that someone I knew and someone so young could be diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.  It was that very first self-exam in which I discovered my tumor. It was close to my collarbone and the size of a little green pea. My friend’s diagnosis may have saved my life as I caught the disease early because of that self-exam.

It is easy to be complacent about the pink ribbons we see all over town, the Internet and on television. Encourage the women in your life to get a mammogram, and to do self-exams monthly. One of 8 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lives, and 85% of them will have no family history of the disease. Men are not immune to breast cancer either. One out of 1,000 men will be diagnosed as well. It can happen to anyone at any time, and early detection is key. The pink ribbon campaign of Breast Cancer Awareness Month is only successful if we put into practice what we need to do for early detection of the disease: monthly self-exams and mammograms. I am living proof that early detection saves lives.