COMMENTARY | While October is widely known as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and pink ribbons are out in force, the reality of breast cancer doesn't end on Oct. 31. In my own life, this October was the kickoff for a fight against the disease as my mother was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in September and began chemotherapy just last week.
While I already knew a great deal about breast cancer (or so I thought), I have been given a crash course in the disease over the last couple of months and have learned more than I wanted to know.
Breast cancer is definitely not the only disease that deserves attention and should be the subject of increased awareness, but it is what it is and October is set aside to raise awareness about breast cancer specifically. I fear that when stores put away the pink and the calendar page gets turned, the issue will just become another seasonal thing that is forgotten about until next year.
That's not how it works in my family, though. My mother's cancer doesn't go away at the end of October and my pink ribbons will still be on display.
My mother discovered her cancer through a routine mammogram. She was six months late getting her annual mammogram and if she had gotten it done on time, six months ago, who knows? This aggressive type of cancer may have had six months to gain hold.
If this journey through breast cancer has taught me anything, it is this: Breast cancer doesn't care if it's October. It doesn't care if you are young or old. It doesn't care if you are rich or poor. Breast cancer wants to beat and harass your loved ones. Breast cancer wants to destroy your body, your life, your hope and your spirit.
Even though the month of awareness is almost over, it doesn't mean it's time to go easy on breast cancer. Tell your sisters. Tell your mothers. Tell your husbands, brothers, daughter, sons and friends. Tell them all that breast cancer is evil and instead of fearing it, we should all learn as much as we can about it and fight it. The more we know about this evil, the more we are armed with knowledge to fight. Spread the word every day, and not just in October.
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