Breast Cancer Awareness Month- Let’s Talk Boobies!
Most of my life I have avoided my boobies, except for the time I was 25 and decided I needed them. So I found a doctor, made an appointment and purchased myself a C cup pair of spectacular boobies (implants).
Twenty five years later and somewhere after 15 months of breast feeding I began feeling lumps and one of those boobies became encapsulated, it was also the booby that when I had mammograms would show up with cysts. I am one of the lucky ones, to this date I have not had a cyst be malignant.
Five years ago I had my implants removed, the scare tissue cleaned up and smaller implants, we are talking half the sized of my last implants, put in. This time under the muscle so that detection of those cysts would be easier. Soooo much happier with these babies and with the easier detection of any little bumps! I find it much easier to do self exams in the shower now, especially without the scar tissue from the encapsulated implants which was always making my skin crawl as my fingers would move over those gross bumps, yuck!!!
So I am on to better booby health but I also hated getting mammograms and still do! God those machines are horrible! I just couldn’t wrap my head around all the radiation, and the fact that my boobs were flattened out between two pieces of plastic like that. Some women don’t mind it, not me! Besides I almost always had to go for an ultra sound after to see what those pesky cysts were up to. To this day I don’t know why I can’t bypass the mammogram and go straight to the ultrasound. Can you tell how much I hate mammograms? Alternative? I looked into breast thermography. It is soooooooo cooooool!! I mean COLD but so worth the 15 or so minutes to get the thermographs of my tissue and absolutely pain free.
Most insurance companies don’t pay for breast thermography but you can go to www. bcrf.org and fill out a form for free and they will usually give you a grant. October is crazy and they usually get tapped out of funds but any other month you may score some money. The whole process is super easy and they send you the money once you send them the bill. I happened to get $35 towards my thermography, yippy!
So who does breast thermography you ask???? Not many people but I am lucky! My absolutely amazing Chiropractor Dr. Diane Jordan (www.drdianejordan.com) does them and then sends the images out to be read and a report is sent back with its conclusions. Mine came back and of course that funny lil cyst showed up again, no bigger than last time. So now I get to go to my wonderful OB and ask her for an ultra sound. Here we go again! Oh and Diane usually runs a special in October so check in with her!!!
So this is my story and I feel so blessed that I have had relatively healthy boobies! But I know so many people who haven’t, including my most adorable friend and client Lisa Edwards. This is why I am actually writing this blog and why I want you to pay attention to what I am going to say next.
Boobies are not talked about enough and some of us (yes me) don’t really like all the self exam stuff and of course the annual mamo, but it is SUPER important and more of us need to know how to be better at it and how to be a support system for those family and friends who have been detected with breast cancer and/or going through treatment. Breast Cancer Research Foundation has a plethora of information on their website here www.bcrf.org so take a moment to read a little and we have something to help as well.
In honor of all the hard work this organization does we here at PISC and LCWA have put together a little swag bag for your loved one the month of October. It will have some wonderful ointments, oils, tummy settlers, journaling info and meditation ideas, just to mention a few of the goodies. Feel free to call and reserve one or stop by our front desk. They will be available Oct 24-Nov 8. The bags value is $45, but will be donation based. (if you are feeling generous we absolutely encourage you to donate what your heart feels!)
100% of donations go straight to Breast Cancer Research Foundation
Happy booby month!!
XO
Stacey