October 1, 2020 - Fall into Pink

And so the month begins. It is the month for falling leaves and cooler night time breezes. Halloween is gearing up (at least at my house it is). We have decorated - correction - Jamie and Mason have decorated. The outside of our house is adorned with copious amounts of purple and candy corn colored Halloween lights. Pumpkins, skeletons, spiders, and scarecrows sit idly waiting on Halloween.

This month also brings my next PET Scan. We are beginning to feel anxious as the date nears closer. We are in constant prayer that my cancer has not spread. We know it is a matter of time. We move forward with a positive attitude, but it is always a relief when it is over. As usual, I will report back my results once I have them in mid October.

Unless you have been living under a rock, it is also the month of Pink, to signify Breast Cancer Awareness. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM). You will see many organizations, from Delta Airlines to the NFL showing solidarity in the cure for Breast Cancer. I embrace this because awareness is so important.

Mammograms and self-checks are critical. If Breast Cancer is in your future, I hope and pray it is detected early. You want EARLY stage breast cancer. No one dies from early stage breast cancer.

The CURE for Breast Cancer is talked about a lot in October. It is critical that we stop Breast Cancer in its tracks, before it can take root. We need to make sure there is awareness and attention paid to Breast Cancer once it spreads. When it spreads it is now MBC (metastatic breast cancer). There is NO cure for MBC. It is terminal. No one dies from early stage Breast Cancer, but all will succumb once it becomes MBC, whether it is from the cancer itself or the chemo meds we are required to take. It becomes a waiting game to the end.

My intention is not to be harsh, but rather to help educate. The media gets it wrong so many times. When you see a news report that someone has died from breast cancer, they did not. They died from metastatic breast cancer.

One of the blogs that I follow, No Half Measures, is dedicating the month of October to BCAM and the importance of supporting MBC. Her site shares a wealth of information. I’m sharing a picture that she shared on her latest post. It is sobering.

So, as we Fall into the month of pink, let’s raise our awareness for Metastatic Breast Cancer. It is the killer that lurks among us. It’s no wonder that October, the month of Halloween, was chosen as the month for awareness.