As we close out the month of October, there is an important portion of the month that many people usually fail to acknowledge for the right reasons or for what it's worth. Breast Cancer is a silent killer that can be detrimental to anyone's health, especially women, without even being known on many occasions. Bringing awareness to this sickness is more than important, especially when it is brought to light so that the human race can be proactive and take steps to prevent more deaths from this heinous form of cancer.

One in every eight American women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. That's 12%, 12% too many. Obviously, risks can be heightened depending on your lifestyle, genetics, age, and environmental concerns, but there are ways to stay above this killer and stay alert. For one, leading a healthy lifestyle can really support a lower risk of getting breast cancer. Staying away from soy products, eating healthy, and exercising can all help women and men alike in their fight against this rapidly growing epidemic. In addition, regular check-ups and self-exams are crucial to women's health and preventing breast cancer.

Breast cancer impacts so many people and can drastically break a family. Speaking from experience, it is more than traumatic to hear that one of your own family members has cancer. My own mom was diagnosed with this horrible disease when my sister and I were very young and it truly took a toll on our family. Seeing my mom, the strongest woman I know, suffer and be unable to take care of herself after procedures that she shouldn't have had to endure was heartbreaking. She still suffers to this day with post-surgery and post-cancer medications, doctor visits, and even repercussions of surgeries that made permanent damage to her body.

Although my family was super lucky that my mom was leading a healthy lifestyle and caught her sickness before it caught up to her, not every family has the luxury of taking care of cancer while it is still in it's early and or premature stages. This alone is why there has been a huge emphasis on awareness, raising funds, and being proactive. The best way to combat something killer like cancer is to try to catch it before it becomes too powerful to treat.

This being said, talk to your doctor or OBGYN if you are even slightly concerned or have qualms about a self-exam. I cannot stress this enough because my mom found her cancer at the age of 38 and would not have been sent for her first routine mammogram until 40. If my mom had waited to get sent for a mammogram by her doctor, she most likely would not be here today because after two years her cancer would potentially have been too advanced to come back from. Hearing stories like this is sad, but it is real. Hear this and let it open your eyes to see just why Breast Cancer Awareness is so important, it saved my mom's life.

I thank my lucky stars every day that my mom knew her body and was attentive. I am so grateful to her doctors and our friends and family that were so supportive and helpful to her through the treatments as well as being supportive to myself and my other immediate family members that went through this with her. I am lucky enough to still have my mom and my best friend because of breast cancer awareness, so I stress this again: make sure you take initiative and know yourself to prevent this horrid breast cancer from impacting you and your family or someone else you care about.

I love you, mom. I'm sorry you had to endure this, but I'm so happy that your awareness led you to be an advocate for Breast Cancer Awareness and you kicked cancer's ass.