Wednesday, July 29, 2009

An Important Reminder

Take care of your health. When they say prevention is key, early detection saves lives... they aren't kidding. I've shared Michele Graddy's story- links are over in the sidebar. What we knew was that she was diagnosed with breast cancer June 5 and died July 2. It had metastisized to her lymph nodes, brain, maybe even her lungs. I've learned more since then. She'd not been feeling "right" for almost a year. A close friend encouraged her to seek medical attention. For reasons that I don't know, Michele didn't. Her health wasn't good. And the hidden and undiscovered cancer, it seems in hindsight, was already in her brain. Her normal decision making, home care, behavior... was off. She didn't seek medical attention. She waited until she had pain from a growth in her arm. She waited until it was too late to catch it all. Don't wait. Do your monthly exams. Get your mammograms. Pay attention to your health. Listen to your body and respond when something is wrong. I added a "Be Bright Pink" button to the side panel. I learned about it from Mrs4444- she learned about it at BlogHer. This group is focused on young women who are at risk for breast and ovarian cancer. Their message applies to all women. You have to empower yourself. You have to educate yourself. The best way to fight cancer is to detect it early. And you need knowledge to detect it early. So go check it out. Be Bright Pink. Take care of your own health, your own body. Go do a breast self exam. Right now. Sign up at Be Bright Pink for a monthly e-mail reminder to do that exam. Don't ignore your body, your responsibility. Please. The results can be tragic.

5 comments:

Mrs4444 said...

Bravo, Liz! This is great. And I still can't get over how beautiful it looks in here-gorgeous.

Off to read about Michelle...

Garret said...

Great post..... well, not so much for me. If I get much fatter, I'll have man-boobs to check. And yes, I know men can get breast cancer too.

Eternal Lizdom said...

Garret- I'm not so well versed in man cancer. But I know that there are signs and symptoms and regular checks you should be having done, too. And hopefully are. Or will be soon (that whole "lack of insurance" could cause issues, I know).

Mr4444- It really fits in exactly right, doesn't it? I love it!

darsden said...

Amen, excellent wake up post!

Boozy Tooth said...

I love you. Thank you for this!