I was first touched by Cancer at the age of fifteen when my mother told me that she had breast cancer. I knew it was serious, but as a fifteen year old, it was hard to fully grasp what that meant. At the age of 17, my mother passed away and I felt all alone. Why hadn’t I spent more time with her, why hadn’t I helped out more around the house? These were just a few of the many thoughts I had spinning through my head. I know that I was just a kid, but to this day, I still ask myself these questions.
As an adult, I think about Cancer and how far technology has come since my mother was first diagnosed in the 1990’s. We lived in a small town and maybe she could have had better care if we lived in a larger town, but maybe not. I do feel that she if were diagnosed today, that she would stand a far better chance at recovery in 2013 than she had been given at the time of her diagnosis. She didn’t smoke, but had a lump and waited way too long to have it checked out. She was scared and her husband didn’t insist that she go to the doctor. Her husband, my step father, let her wait, in hopes that everything would just go away. If she were here today and told me about a lump, I wouldn’t let her wait. If you know someone that is worried about a lump and is scared to have it checked out, stand by them, offer to go to the doctor with them, don’t let them wait.
The American Cancer Society is having its’ 100th birthday soon and its’ goal is to help everyone have more birthdays. My mother passed away at age 42, and I believe that she deserved more birthdays. We have to remember, “Silence doesn’t finish the fight, but action will!” There are now many more cancer survivors now then there were in the past and also less smokers than were around when I was a child. Statistics now say that 2 out of 3 people survive cancer. I can’t wait until the day comes when we don’t have to fear cancer and statistics say that 3 out of 3 people survive cancer. This post is sponsored by the American Cancer Society. Has your family been affected by Cancer? Do you make it a point to get yourself checked out on a regular basis?
Take a moment against silence and check out the ACS donation page. Did you know that you can choose a pledge to make healthy choices in your life and Hearst Magazines will donate $1 for every pledge?