Posts tagged ‘overweight’
Have you got boobs? Then you’ve got a dog in this fight.
We had an awesome Survivor Saturday this past weekend at the Womens 4 Miler Training Program. Two breast cancer survivors spoke of their personal battles with this disease. There was Patty, a young woman who truly didn’t fit any high risk profile. Even her doctors were skeptical that the lump she found could be anything but benign. Then there was Louise, a woman with a compelling family history of cancer who regrettably let her annual mammogram appointment lapse. She gave us all fair warning not to do the same. Their stories serve as powerful lessons of both warning and hope, and we are blessed by their generosity and celebrate their happy outcomes.
Let me lay a few facts on you:
- One in eight women or 12.6% of all women will get breast cancer in her lifetime.
- Breast cancer risk increases with age and every woman is at risk.
- Every 13 minutes a woman dies of breast cancer.
I had never given a lot of thought to breast cancer. I had no family history, except for my great grandmother who was diagnosed in her mid 90s. I mean at that age, it’s gotta be something, right? But here’s one that really blew me away:
- Women who have a first-degree relative (mother, daughter, sister) have a risk of breast cancer 2 to 4 times greater than average. [BUT...]
- Genetically inherited forms of breast cancer only comprise about 5 to ten percent of breast cancers cases overall.
Whoa! So having a family history of breast cancer may put you in a higher risk category, but not having a family history of breast cancer really doesn’t afford me any “GET OUT OF CANCER FREE” passes? Maybe I should be taking this whole deal a little more seriously.
I didn’t believe I had too many risk factors aside from poor diet, smoking, alcohol abuse, obesity and having my first baby as an “old” lady (30!). During the course of my own personal wellness journey, I got involved with the Women’s 4 Miler which revolves around education and fundraising for the UVA Breast Care Center. I started running because I wanted to lose weight; I trained with the W4MTP because it was a kind, safe, and proven training program for women like me.
All that breast cancer stuff was incidental to me, but I started hearing some of these startling statistics, and more importantly, I came to know and love too many women who were in the fight of their lives, or who were survivors, or who had lost a loved one to this disease. For me, it has gone beyond statistically scary to downright heartbreaking.
I know now, that even though I may be doing all the right things, I am not immune to the vagaries of cancer. So for myself and for every friend, mother, sister, daughter, aunt, and grandmother out there, I have committed to run for prevention education, better detection, better treatments, and a cure.
So if you have breasts, you have something at stake. Take care of yourself, get your mammograms, and do your monthly breast self exam. If you know and love someone with breasts, this issue is yours as well.
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