Breast Cancer Awareness goes beyond just knowing about the disease

By TAMMY BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette publisher

TAMMY BROOKS

Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013 — This is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Surely you are very aware of the pink ribbon campaign that reminds us all of the need to prevent, detect, treat and fund research about breast cancer — all of which are very important.

Many of you have friends or family whose lives have been touched by breast cancer. Until recently  I didn’t know there was a month dedicated to it, though I am very aware of breast cancer because it was the diagnosis I received on Jan. 24, 2013.

Before that no one in my immediate family had experienced this diagnosis. Initially I was terrified. It’s the not knowing what the biopsy will reveal, or how severe the treatments will be that created the worst mental strain.

Physically, the worst part is the wear and tear the chemotherapy does to your body’s systems. And yes, I lost my hair. I know now how vain I am — I missed my hair. In its place, I learned scarves slide around a lot, and just how hot hats are to wear in July.

My prognosis is very good;  I should be in remission by February 2014. But when it comes to Breast Cancer Awareness, this is what I have learned as a survivor of this hideous disease.

BE AWARE that when you ask how someone with breast cancer is doing, you are telling them you care. When you share with them stories of your fight or a family member’s fight with breast cancer, it shows you are connected with them in their journey.

BE AWARE that when you tell them you are praying for their healing, you are giving the gift of hope.

BE AWARE that when you tell a breast cancer patient how good they look or how much you like their new, weird hair, you are accepting them as they are.

BE AWARE to not treat a breast cancer patient differently; if you joked or picked on them before their diagnosis, keep it up — they want to feel what is normal. Enough of your life changes when you are living through breast cancer.

BE AWARE that you can help make it better.

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