03.18.05
More About Breast Cancer
I received a thank you letter from my Aunt J yesterday (Monique’s mom). I had written to tell her about my Walk in Monique’s memory, and about how much I am awed and inspired by Monique’s life. Monique and I are different in some ways, but I like to think that we both have a love of life and a desire to help make the world a better place. That’s all that really matters in the end, I suppose.
I wasn’t expecting a letter from Aunt J. I just wanted her to know what I was doing, and that I was thinking about her. I can’t imagine losing a child… it just isn’t supposed to happen that way. Her letter was a really nice end to an otherwise kind of crappy day.
I’d found out the day before that a friend’s mother had died of soft tissue breast cancer. This is one of the worst kinds of breast cancer because it is not detectable with the normal kinds of tests (mamograms, monthly self checks, etc.). If I understood LM correctly, they didn’t find SP’s mother’s cancer until it had metastisized. I don’t know all of the symptoms for sure, so I am not going to list them here, but if you have any changes to your breasts that don’t seem like the normal monthly hormonal changes, please talk to your doctor!
I heard this morning on NPR, that there is some good and bad news for African-American women regarding breast cancer. Apparently AA women are 25% less likely than Caucasian women to get breast cancer. Unfortunately, AA women are something like 50% more likely to get this really bad form of cancer (triple negative? I’ll have to listen to the article again later) that has a higher mortality rate. Yikes!
Sorry for the sad post, but I think it all needed to be said. And please, if you don’t feel comfortable donating to my efforts, please consider donating to the American Cancer Society or the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Nancy said,
March 18, 2005 at 10:30 am
I’m so sorry about your friend’s mother! I decided to take part in the 3-Day because I think it’s such an important cause. I really had no idea how extensive this cancer continues to be. But everyday I continue to hear from more people who have either survived it or have lost those close to them because of it. I’m amazed that modern medicien hasn’t come further along in fighting this. I can’t wait to walk alongside you!