Saturday, July 26, 2008

Check yourself before you wreck yourself. Current mood: pissed off


So it seems that I only blog when I am a) really, really happy or b) pissed off. This one falls into the b) category.


There is an article out this week (although not the first along the same lines) refuting the need for monthly breast self-exams. Basically, the article states that the "survival" rates weren't any better for women who did BSEs, and that BSEs could lead to "needless" biopsies (that might damage women's (already fragile?) minds and well-being).


BULLSHIT alert! At age 34, I found my cancerous lump while doing a BSE. I do not have a strong family history of breast cancer. Therefore, I would not have been eligible for a mammogram for another six years, if even then. I was so far out from my next GYN appointment that it wasn't even scheduled yet. I was diagnosed with IDC, Stage 1 (no lymph nodes involved, but 4 removed for a SNB).


Let me break this down for you...would you want to wait another 9 months (or even one week) to know if you had BC? Would you rather be a Stage 1 or a Stage 3 (or 4)? Well, technically you don't get to choose any of it, but I hope you get my point. No matter what anyone says, when they are diagnosed with BC, one of the first things they do after being staged, is to look up the survival rates for that stage. Survival rates are done by percentages by stage for a period of 5 to 10 years. None of us are statistics, but seeing a 90% survival rate vs. a 20% survival rate is scary as hell. Okay, it's all scary, but once again--I am just trying to make a point here.


Your treatment is determined by your stage, so how can it be possible for it not to be better to find it earlier?!? WTF?!? Look up "lymphedema" if you want another reason why finding it early is preferable, even if treatment is successful. I could still end up dying from BC, but the odds are on my side (for now).


Most of you lovely ladies (and men) will not be diagnosed with BC. I pray "none". However, please do not buy into the hype that doing a BSE isn't necessary, or even advisory. The women I have spoken to "personally" who have had BC and are in agreement with the article, did NOT find their cancer via a BSE. I wonder if they are upset that they didn't find their lump themselves and maybe earlier*...


If you do find a "lump" and it warrants a biopsy...I am a little biased having had BC, but the biopsy was a walk in the friggin' park compared to the rest of it. The biopsy was scary, yes. It hurt, yes. However, it hurt less than a pap smear. I was sore about 5 days later, but I got over it. Would you rather have an early biopsy (or even 5) that came back benign or a later biopsy that came back with different results?


It pisses me off that some of my friends and family may read this article, and stop "knowing thyselves". It pisses me off that a 24-year old in Boise, Idaho may read it and end up with a late-stage BC. Yes, 24-year olds get BC. There are 18-year olds with BC. ARGHHH!!! So, please...


Take 5 minutes each month to touch yourself (do it more, if that's your thang). You don't have to get a shower chart, and follow it step by step. Figure out what works for you, and just know what your breasts should feel like. If you aren't sure, schedule a visit with your GYN and have him/her do an exam, and then you do one. Ask questions--this person has seen your hoo-ha, so don't be embarrassed!


If you find something, get it checked. If you don't, drink a cocktail and think of me. "One for my homies..."


*this should in NO WAY be taken in the context of me thinking that women who did not do BSEs are in any way responsible for the stage of their BC