October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Have you battled the disease or know of someone who has been through it?  Our family is quite aware...my mom has had it three times now.  She is a survivor.  Her strength is like none others I know.  Her positive attitude, humor and courage have seen her through each time.  My mom is my hero!

    About 10 years ago, my mom had a mastectomy.  She had cancer for the second time on that side and decided to remove the breast.  With humor, lots of jokes and laughter, mom got through it.  We all got through it.  Hearing that your mom has cancer is like a knife cutting to the very center of your soul...at least, that is what it was like for me.  Time passed.  Always wondering if it would come back, Mom would stay on top of her care and visits every 6 months to be sure...checking for new cancers.  She had some biopsies and was told by her doctor that she might want to remove the other breast to be safe...as a preventative measure.  Mom tucked that idea away, but never felt ready to do that...until this year, in August.  There was something that told her, "Do it...get it over with....the waiting and wondering..."  So she scheduled herself for the elective surgery, for another mastectomy.  She reached that point where she just wanted to get it over with.  After the surgery, I went to my mom's room.  Here I was, nervous for her and hoping she was okay, and she met me with a joke!  She was all smiles and there was relief on her face.  It was done.

    A week later, the pathology report came back...an unexpected report.  They found cancer throughout the breast tissue!  It was bad, one that would have spread quickly had they not removed it.  We were stunned!  No one suspected that...this was to prevent, but turned out to be a surgery that saved her the agony of another infection!  The doctors were certain nothing more needed to be done, the cancer had not spread outside of the breast.  I remember standing there, dumbstruck...no one moved, except Bryan, who jumped up and hugged his Nonna hard.  She knew...God whispered to her that this was the time for the surgery....and she obeyed.

    I have had one biopsy scare in my life...in my 20's.  Since then I make sure to do self checks and have had my mammograms.  With the disease in my family, it only makes sense.  I pray that anyone reading this will do the same..take care of yourselves and listen for God's leading.  With the knowledge that we have today, more and more women are surviving. 

    I am thankful that my mom is still here today.  She is the most beautiful person I know!  Her strength is an inspiration to me and to many that know her. 

    Here are some sites that you might be interested in:

http://www.nbcam.org/

http://www.bcsurvivors.org/