Logo courtesy of Susan G Komen Foundation
I made a decision a few weeks ago. You see the uproar that came in November last year about mammograms at 50 rather than 40 really hit home to me. Now that news was all over the place but the news that the American Cancer Society still recommended mammograms at 40 kind of got buried.
For our family this is a very real possibility. I do my self exams every single month because my health is important to me. And I’m kind of jinxed in this area. I used to work for a general surgeon and we had a computer module that I would walk breast patients through. We would input all sorts of factors (pregnancies, breastfeeding, and relatives with cancer) and the computer would factor all the data up and tell you what area you fell in to be more concerned about breast cancer. Now there is no absolute guarantee in this module and patients with the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene do have a higher risk, it was still good knowledge for me. I was able to see that my risk factors are quite a bit higher. Why? Because I have a grandmother that has a definite diagnosis of breast cancer. My paternal grandmother was diagnosed, had a mastectomy and treated with chemotherapy and radiation. She is luckily still with us to this day. My maternal grandmother was diagnosed with metastatic disease and passed away a few weeks later.
So in October 2010, I will be hitting the streets of DC to walk 60 miles in 3 days. I will be raising money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation and early Friday October 8th I will be putting on my sneakers to start the walk.
What this means to you? Over the next few months I want you to be able to follow on the journey with me. Is there anyone in Southern Maryland that is doing the 3 Day and want to train together? Send me an email or tweet.
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