BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

Happy Thursday!  Hope your week is going well! Heather and I are in New York about to head out and hit the streets. I love to get inspiration from so many different places in this city! Today, though, this post is all about Breast Cancer Awareness and what you need to know and how to help.

Most of you probably know that I am a five year (praise God) survivor of Triple Negative Breast Cancer. (explained here). I don’t want this blog to be a breast cancer blog but feel the need to talk about it sometimes when it is relevant to my life and what’s going on. It is part of my story and who I am now. It is a life-changing ordeal for everyone who goes through it. I have had people tell me that I am so brave and strong. What’s so funny, is that I feel like the same person, but know that I must be and anyone else that has gone through it is too. It’s so terrifying to hear those words come out of a doctors mouth and learn that you are now a statistic and will have to fight for your life.

So much has changed in the breast cancer arena. Women are living and living longer lives…if caught early! I am here to remind you to please schedule a mammogram and physically check yourselves. My cancer was found through a routine mammogram. No tumor was seen, only a calcification that looked weird (it had tentacles). Thank God, that the radiologist told me to get a biopsy. Breast cancer seems to be happening at alarming rates and to younger and younger women these days. Maybe it is the hormones from birth control, foods, or just your body’s hormones that is the reason. I am convinced without a shadow of a doubt that mine was environmental. Just because you don’t have it in your family doesn’t mean it can’t happen to you! It did to me!

I look forward to October and Breast Cancer Awareness month because I want women to get checked and to be aware. Please don’t put off your appointment or checking yourselves. One in eight women will get to hear those horrible words and I don’t want it to be any of you reading this. We need to empower our family and friends to do the same. Cancer of any kind sucks! Know your bodies and call or go to the doctor if something is amiss. Don’t worry about bothering them, that’s what they are there for!

Triple Negative Breast Cancer is a scary beast. I am so blessed and grateful to have survived, but what comes with that (personally), is a deep sense of responsibility for me to get the word out! Honestly, I never worried about getting breast cancer. Maybe a different kind, but not that. It can happen to anyone! So how can you help? Please support brands that raise money for awareness or research. Breast cancer will probably affect most of us, so be supportive if you can. Brands like Estee Lauder, JCPenney, Talbots, Ann Taylor, Chicos, and more, give on a regular basis. I am linking some products below for you to consider buying to help in the fight.

I hope that this isn’t a morbid post as that is not my intent. My intentions are for you wonderful people to be aware and spread the word to every woman you know this month! We can all help each other! So in the spirit of helping out, I wanted to share with you some brands that are giving back. All of the products that I have linked below help out in the fight in some way and are super cute!

Thank you so much for reading this post! I hope it helps gets someone to the doctor for a checkup!

Photo: Mary Summers Hafner

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