This is dedicated to every person out there who is fighting breast cancer, or knows someone battling it. We are all here to fight like a girl for you.
1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in their life. (U.S Breast Cancer Statistics)
In 2016 an estimated 246, 660 new cases of invasive breast cancer were expected to be diagnosed in woman in the United States. (U.S Breast Cancer Statistics)
Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women. (U.S Breast Cancer Statistics)
About 85% of breast cancer can occur in women who have no family history of breast cancer. (U.S Breast Cancer Statistics)
In 2016 there are more than 2.8 million women with a history of breast cancer in just the United States alone. (U.S Breast Cancer Statistics)
2.8 million women. 2.8 million people who have had to fear tomorrow due to an invasive disease. 2.8 million people who's families had to fear the life of their loved one. Over 2.8 million loved ones coping with the pain that comes with an ill family member. 2.8 million people too many who have had to experience the measures that come from an invasive cancer.
The Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure foundation is one of the most prominent foundations around the nation. This foundation holds races over the course of September and October in almost every city across the United States. These races provide a time of celebration, happiness, empowerment, courage, grieving, and hope for women and men all around the country. People come together as one for just a couple hours one Sunday morning in hope to find a cure. Whether you know someone or not who has encountered this horrific disease there is something you can do. I am encouraging you to think about the 2.8 million women, and families that this has effected, and to find a different meaning in the month of October this year. It can make a huge impact on more people then you can even imagine.
October, the first touch of fall. The leaves are crisp, the air is cool, and there is a fall freshness in the air that you cant help but fall in love with. Halloween costumes deck the halls of stores, and everyone is on edge waiting as the holiday months approach. To me this is how October, had always been. I never found another meaning for the month, after all it was just another month to me.
However, two years ago my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, and that is when everything changed. Suddenly, my mom, the person who is my rock had now encountered an invasive disease, and we were all left to question what was next. We were faced to look at just how bad the prognosis was, the options for treatment, and the struggling times to follow. This is not something you ever want to discuss for someone who means the absolute world to you.
It hurts.
It hurts to watch the person who was always so strong for you get completely knocked down. It hurts to watch the doctors tell your mom that the only method for treatment is going to be invasive. It hurts to watch your mom become confined to a chair with little to no movement on the top half of her body for weeks, and she is only 43. My mom should have been out watching her kids play sports, or baking her famous cookies. She shouldn't have, nor should anyone ever have to go through this. My mom was lucky. She was diagnosed early, and the treatment was invasive enough that she has now been cancer free for two years, and there is no bigger blessing in my life then that statement.
However, I am aware that not everyone has the same outcome my mom did. I can not imagine the pain that comes with an tougher journey, but please know my heart and prayers go out to you. That is why I now feel that I should use my voice to advocate a new beginning for all the women who are not as fortunate as my mom. It is up to us to change the future for so many women. Use the resources available, get a yearly mammogram. It saved my moms life, and it could save yours a loved ones too. Go to the races, raise money for the people who can no longer fight like a girl. It is up to us to find a cure.
Therefore, October is now about so much more then fall for me. October is about a month of hope. It is a month of happiness, and rejoice, as well as for some a month of mourning. It is a month for pink. It is a month for survivors. It is a month to be thankful. It is a month for cure. It is a month to fight like a girl. Fight like a girl. Fight like a girl for yourself, for a loved one, or even for someone you don't know. But whatever you do fight like a girl so we can kick cancers ass for everyone. Together we have the power to change lives.
