By The CSP Team
Lately we have been blown away by the number of times we’ve received the “Hope you will join me” email from a friend, neighbor, or relative who has decided to take a walk to make a difference in the fight against breast cancer. It seems like pink is the new black and everyone is joining the movement. We are so proud of our Smarty community so instead of our usual Smarty Saturday where we feature just one woman who is making a difference, we decided to feature as many women as we can who are joining together in the Susan G Komen Walk for the Cure next Saturday, October 3rd.
Below you will meet several Smarty women and men who are taking on the challenge to walk in honor of their wife, mom, aunt, friend, co-worker, etc. Smarties, as you go about your day next Saturday, send all the blessings you can to these walkers. No matter your faith, lift these women, their families and friends who are facing this disease up in prayer. Let them know that there is a community who supports them and will help them not only face breast cancer but conquer it. May a special pink light shine from above on Saturday. We applaud each and every walker and hope you will support their teams.
Karen Charles:
The one thing I noticed prior to my diagnosis in October 2007, was that my
hormones were out of whack. I thought I was in menopause. When most women begin menopause, you have hot flashes, night sweats and are generally not interested in any romantic life, but not me. My husband should have been a very happy man because I read every historical romance novel and thought I was finally at my romantic peak at the age of 48. Like most women, I had annual mammograms and had good reports even though my breast tissue is dense. In 2007, I went to a new location that offered digital mammograms. Sure enough on Monday, October 7, 2007 the radiologist stated “You have breast cancer in the right breast”. Not that we think you have breast cancer, but we will arrange a biopsy on Wednesday. By Friday, my internists and a different radiologist called to confirm the diagnosis. I remember the radiologist asked me “could you not feel the lump?” Yes, I can now that you point the lump out to me. Sometimes I thought I felt something but the tissue would move around and I thought I imagined something was there. The important thing to remember is if you think you feel something, go get it checked even if you had a mammogram last week. Be aware of your body because the earlier the diagnosis the better the survival. I had a slow growing hormonal cancer which had gone into my first lymph node. A total of 11 were removed. I did a standard course of treatment after my surgery. I did 6 chemotherapies which were not that bad. New medicines for nausea are wonderful. Losing my hair was hard. The wig was hot. Radiation was a breeze. Prayer, friends and family support are a blessing. By May 2008, I finished with my treatments. Now I go every 6 months for a mammogram, visit the oncologist every 3 months and pray that this is behind me.
Marilyn Miller:
Shock. Disbelief. How could this happen, I am only forty years old? I eat healthy, workout 5-6 days a week, and am an avid marathoner. This could not be happening to me. This was my initial reaction to being diagnosed with breast cancer. The weird thing is that I always had a feeling that I would get breast cancer even with no history of it in my family. I felt a couple of lumps, and my husband pestered me for about two months to get a mammogram. So on that day that I received the news, we cried together in each others arms. What do we do, where do we go from here, how could this happen to us?
It has been a very rough two months, but with faith, family, friends and dogs we have survived this tumultuous time. I encourage every woman to be proactive and get a mammogram . Do not say it can not happen to me, it can. Cancer is a beast and has no pity. It has changed our lives forever.
Jennifer Mathis:
Hi. My husband, James, my daughter Grace, and I will be walking in the Komen Race for the Cure with family and friends, and we are very excited. This has special meaning for our family because I was diagnosed with breast cancer on August 24, 2009. I am lucky to have found my cancer early as it is very small and very treatable. I am lucky. It never occurred to me to be worried about breast cancer at my age- I had no family history nor did I have the breast cancer gene. I had never been very vigilant about doing self exams and happened to find my lump by chance. Within one week of finding the lump, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It is devastating and overwhelming to learn you have this disease, but early detection is key. My surgery will be on October 8, and I am looking forward to moving on and continuing my life as a survivor. Having breast cancer as a young mom at 35 is scary but early detection saves lives- mine included. It is so important to know your body and feel your boobies! We feel passionately about finding a cure for this disease and hope others will help us fight like a girl and celebrate life by walking too.
Stacey Kirk:
My name is Stacey and the SGK Race for the Cure is my first race. A few ladies and I have been running together as a way to get healthier and have some “friend time.” I knew that I would eventually compete in a 5K when I was farther along in my training, but when I heard about this one, I felt that it needed to be my first.
I am running in memory of my aunt, Jean Haga Baumgardner. She passed away in 2002, right after my second son was born, from a recurrence of cancer that started in her breast 12 years before. She was a wonderful woman, so creative and so devoted to her family. Aunt Jean would have been 63 a few days ago. The world is a lesser place without her. I have attached a picture taken in 1975 when I was a month old (my older sister is also in the picture), and Aunt Jean came to visit me for the first time.
Autumn Williams:
My daughter, Ruby Grace (age 5), and
I are walking in honor of my co-worker and friend, Mary Geneva Brackett,
who at the young age of 28 (and just weeks ago), has been diagnosed with
breast cancer. I am walking in support of this sweet soul, as well
as to support the cause of finding a cure, so that no one has to endure
what MGB has had to endure these last few weeks and will face in the coming
months. Our team is the 2nd Base Saviors, and we look forward to
walking with all of the other participants, as well as our Honoree, Mary
Geneva! Here’s to you, Mary Geneva!!
Team link: http://www.teammgb.com/
We will be updating this daily as more teams come in. We want to give every team a voice, so email us at info@charlottesmartypants.com. Think pink and let’s save our ta-ta’s and our Smarty women from this dreadful disease!
2 comments
Karen – Do you mind sharing where you had your digital mammogram done?
Charlotte Radiology at Morrocroft diagnosed my breast cancer. This location moved after my diagnosis to a new location which has digital mammograms prior to the move they had older technology. I understand that all Charlotte locations now offer digital screenings. Now when I go I have ultrasound plus the digitial mammograms.