We spent the weekend scouring the sports store for pink items.
Why?
Because when you’re a DudeMom to two football players, October means Breast Cancer Awareness month and, believe it or not, little footballers love rocking the pink in support of the cause.
Only, do they even know what “the cause” is?
Or are they just excited about getting to wear pink, no judgment?!
**Insert dramatic throat clearing**
Dude 3: Mom, I neeeeed these pink thingys for my arms. And a pink mouthpiece. And a pink water bottle. I can wear it all with my pink headband and my pink socks and, oh! Can you put my pink shoelaces in too?
Me: Not buying that mouthpiece, it’s $24.
Dude 3: Please! Pleasepleaseplease. I need it.
Me: No you don’t. You’re just gonna chew it up like the last three and then we will have a useless piece of pink plastic formerly known as a mouthpiece. That set me back $24. Uh-uh. Not gonna do it.
Dude 3: BUT I LOVE BREAST CANCER.
Random passerby: GASP!
Other random passerby: silence, but with an evil eye.
Dude 2: You’re so dumb.
Me: Whooooooa, homie. You can’t LOVE breast caner.
Dude 3: But I do. I love it. Everyone loves breast cancer. We all wear pink and it’s fun and you’re mean for not loving breast cancer.
Dude 2: You love something that kills people? That’s dumb, you can’t love something that kills people unless you’re the mean one.
Dude 3: What? No. Be quiet. It’s just pink things. Right Mom? Tell him to stop. Pink things don’t kill people.
Me: Ahhhh, you don’t know what breast cancer is, do you? Breast cancer is not just pink things. It’s not just for fun, and it’s not just for football players. Breast cancer is a disease, sweetie. And it kills hundreds of thousands of women every single year. It’s very scary and very sad and you and your football team and all of the football teams everywhere wear pink things to show their support for breast cancer awareness and to help raise money to keep more women from getting it and to also save women who are sick with it. You can love being a part of saving people, but you can’t love breast cancer itself.
Dude 3: Crumpled face. Crushing hug to my waist with tears.
He knows what breast cancer is now.
And, he made me buy him that mouthpiece. And he promised not to chew it or lose it while he wears his pink items with pride this month…
Because that’s what we can do to help.
We’re fortunate that our family has yet to be touched directly by this disease and that he’s been allowed the blessing of living in ignorance because of that.
But, particularly as women, we can’t afford to live in ignorance. Because this disease is pervasive (1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with it in their lifetime), and it affects real families in real ways, every single moment of every single day.
Families like Tami Scovitch’s who have been on the journey with her as she receives treatment at St Agnes Hospital Cancer Institute.
St. Agnes Hospital in Maryland is a comprehensive breast center that utilizes highly recognized physicians at the forefront of advanced techniques, equipment and clinical trials to provide patients with a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary breast cancer treatment approach.
Their one journey, one team approach allows patients to receive all of their care, for the duration of their treatment, from one core team of doctors and specialists. It helps make each patient’s breast cancer treatment personal, so you’re more than just a patient, you’re a person.
St. Agnes wants women to be proactive about breast health, to share their stories of triumph and survival, and to know that, every hospital has excellent doctors and modern technology, but what some hospitals do better than others is work as a team to make the journey towards cancer free life an easier one, and that means something to the patients who go to St. Agnes for care.
You can’t prevent breast cancer, but you can help spread awareness about early detection, support opportunities, and awesome treatment facilities that support patients and their families on the journey.
5 Things Every Woman Can Do About Breast Cancer
1. Give yourself breast exams. Then, tell your friends to do them too!
2. Get yourself a baseline mammogram before you hit the big 4-0. Like between 35-39. I’ve not done mine yet, but it’s on the agenda. Even though I AM TWENTY NINE.
3. If you’re already 40, make sure you are getting mammograms annually.
4. Spread awareness. Talk to your daughters about this, encourage your friends to get checked, have mammogram parties and go together. Or something. You can’t prevent breast cancer by eating healthy and exercising more. Even the most in-shape, healthy women can get this disease and succumb to it. Awareness, including early detection, is the best way to save lives.
5. Support the cause. And share the mission and accomplishments of centers like St. Agnes so that women and their families can continue to receive innovative, well thought, comprehensive care. Share Tami’s story, share your story, share the journey.
*Disclosure: This is a compensated post brought to you by St. Agnes & Vitamix. All opinions and clueless children are my own.
Just a quick comment because mammograms are mentioned so often, and at an early age in this article. Mammograms send radiation directly to the breast, and thus is not without risk, particularly in starting at a young age.
I’ve been getting mammograms since 35 (I’m 43) and the past few years I honestly debate w myself whether to do it or not. This past year I opted instead for a low dose 3-D mammogram, and learned I have sense breasts so the dr recommended ultrasound as a better tool w/o radiation so I did that as well.
For some stupid reason, ultrasound cannot be done w/o a mammogram even though it’s now documented that I have dense breasts… I personally think due to the very big business involved in mammograms.
Next year, I’m going to look into the out of pocket cost of ultrasounds, and I’m likely to start paying for those annually myself rather than the radiation dose mammograms provide.
Important for women to know the risks involved, do the research, and talk to their doctors.
And I think the more important message to get out right now is DO NOT CARRY CELL PHONES IN YOUR BRA or directly on your body at all! It does cause cancer, I have 2 friends whose breast cancer was caused for this reason. There is a big increase in teen breast cancer because of this.