Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October. Here we are. Breast Cancer awareness month. This time last year I was still breastfeeding our baby. Now, I have no breasts, am in medically-induced menopause, and in my cancer survivorship era. 🤯 I am having a hot flash right this minute. This month, and that little pink ribbon, might be annoying (even triggering) for some, but for me in this phase, I'm grateful awareness saved me. 

If you've been following my cancer story, you know my aunt was diagnosed around my age. And that my friend across the street being diagnosed when our baby girls were the same age promoted me to get genetic testing. And that genetic test result lead to frequent checks and vigilance. Why did I stay on top of it? Breast cancer awareness. The messaging got to me. I knew enough about the disease to be motivated to get checked. And my treatments have been a result of well-funded research because of the awareness around breast cancer. The Susan G. Komen foundation has put over $1 billion dollars into cancer research and double that into patient outreach (CNN). 

My endocrine/hormone therapy is being researched as we speak. For hormone therapy, I was first given a timeframe of 5-10 years with my monthly injections and daily pills. When I asked why the 5-10, an oncologist at Fred Hutch said, "Because in five years we will look at the data coming from research happening now." (Side note: I'm getting my ovaries and fallopian tubes out sooner than that, both as a prevention for ovarian cancer and as a way to quit hormone therapy, because it is not fun.) 

All of this to say... PLEASE GET CHECKED. EARLY and OFTEN. If you have a family history, get checked sooner. Genetic testing gives you power (just make sure your life insurance is in place before you pull the trigger because a gene mutation can be a preexisting condition). Knowledge is power. And so is awareness.

Stay well, friends! 

Lauren