October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month #pinkpower

Go Pink

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. You can learn more here or here.

Obviously, early detection is crucial. Know your body, do regular self-exams, and if something doesn't feel right see your doctor. Don't let fear keep you from saving your life.

I don't have close family members that have experienced breast cancer, but my godmother and my church h.s. handbell choir director are survivors. In the case of my director, hers started as skin cancer on her chest, so I also remind you to use sunscreen daily and keep an eye on suspiscious moles/spots.

Anyone that has read KISSED and BETRAYED knows I wrote about Beth's mother having breast cancer. I always knew her mother would die, from initial inception of Beth and Jacob's story. The bonds between mother and daughter echo through a daughter's life for her whole existence. I've lost a lot of people in my life, so unfortunately, writing Beth's grief wasn't hard - at least not technically. I did cry. In fact, I'd lost both my father and a grandfather in 2010, so that fresh pain went into finishing the story by May 2011. Beth's mother doesn't make smart choices, but I think it was a realistic choice. Are there people that refuse treatment? Yes. Are patients often terrified of how sick the drugs will make them? Absolutely. And are humans often in denial? Quite frequently. It might be said that it would've been the easier choice to have her mother survive, but that's not her story.

At the same time, I don't advocate any real woman following in this character's footsteps. While we all have to make the best choices for our personal circumstances, the choices that will make us happiest, it's also important to keep the people around us in mind. We miss you when you're gone.

Are you a cancer survivor?