Hi Everyone--it's that dreaded time of year for me again. The month that everyone comes out of the wood works raising awareness for breast cancer. When your sister, who happens to be your best friend dies of breast cancer, you are completely aware of breast cancer. You see everything as it happens to the person you love, then you become aware of what happens to you, and even after she dies you are continuously aware of the devastation breast cancer causes.
So YES--yes we are all aware of breast cancer. We know it is a cancer that affects both men and women. We know it affects every race. We know if affects both young and old. But here are some little known facts about breast cancer you may not be aware of
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women after skin cancer. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in women after lung cancer.
The left breast is statistically more prone to developing cancer than the right--and scientists still do not know why.
The incidences of breast cancer is highest in more developed countries and lowest in less developed countries.
The United States has more cases of breast than anyone else in the entire world
White women have a greater risk for developing breast cancer than African American women, however more African America women die from breast cancer than white women.
Breastfeeding has been shown to greatly reduce the risk for getting breast cancer. The longer the duration of breastfeeding the great the benefit to you.
While long thought the risk of developing breast cancer increases if there was an occurrence in the mother's side of the family, the risk is just as great if there were occurrences in the father's side of the family.
The BEST thing you can do is educate yourself. Get a mammogram if you are 50 and older. If you have a history of breast cancer or ovarian cancer in your family start before you are in your 40's. Go to your yearly OB/GYN appointments. GO TO YOUR YEARLY OB/GYN APPOINTMENTS! You should not be afraid of your OB/GYN. You should go with a doctor YOU like and feel comfortable with. You shouldn't pick a woman just because you are a woman--you shouldn't feel like only a woman can know how you feel because you are a woman. Don't stay with someone who don't like or feel comfortable with just because you were told he/she is the best.
Your doctor should be your advocate and help you do what's best for you. Don't lie to them about your lifestyle. They need the right information to help you be healthy.
My Manicure today for Breast Cancer Awareness is how breast cancer affected me. My sister was not a survivor and while I rejoice for all those who are--breast cancer will never be about surviving for me.
My index is Zoya Arabella and the rest are the lovely OPI Pussy Galore.
I think Lisa would die of embarrassment if she knew I was wearing a polish with the word "pussy" in it! LOL!
I stamped using BM418 on the index and BM411 on the middle and ring.
Here's a lovely shot with flash--I think we all know I love a textured polish!
I miss my beautiful sister Lisa every single day. They say it gets easier but what they really mean is you learn to tolerate the emptiness you feel inside.
Here's a picture of one of the happiest times I spent with my two sisters! They are both beautiful--I could not have asked for a better family than the one I have.
Lisa is on the left, Lynelle is in the middle and that leaves me on the right this was our last ever Lutze family vacation. We went down to visit our parents in Florida in 2007. It was the best time EVAH!!
I hope someday no one has to lose their sister, or mother, or daughter, or aunt, or wife, or best friend to breast cancer.
Hey Everyone! I see thousand's of these Pink Wednesday posts but I don't really ever do them because I sort of boycott pink. I don't not like pink it's just that pink has come to mean something other than girly bubbly stuff to me. That being said, today I am totally doing pink and showing my support to the hundreds of thousands of women battling breast cancer. IT SUCKS! IT'S AWFUL!!! IT'S TOTALLY NOT FAIR!!!!! But unfortunately all of that doesn't keep it from coming sometimes.
Women and men who battle this horrendous cancer are the fiercest and bravest warriors I know. I did this mani today thinking of them
I want you all to know even without your hair or your breasts you're still beautiful!
I admire your strength and your courage and I am awed by the will to survive you all have.
You are the most beautiful, most brave, strongest people I know!
Hugs to you all!
Hey Everyone--today I want to talk about the difficulty of surviving the loss of a loved one. With this month being October there is nothing but Breast Cancer Awareness surrounding me at every turn. Everyone and their mother is doing the silly "post this as your face book status", some people are going around saying something stupid like Save The Ta Ta's because they think it's funny, and work has been having donate $5 to Susan G Komen so you can wear jeans, and on and on and on.
NO ONE is more aware of breast cancer than I am. Breast Cancer killed my beautiful sister, Lisa. So this time of year is very hard on me. I don't want to be a bitch, I don't want to be bitter and ugly, yet I am. I have to say to myself repeatedly--just because your sister did not survive does not mean someone else's sister didn't. And even though my sister died, every day someone's sister survived--someone's mother, grandmother, aunt, sister and daughter did survive--AND someone's father, grandfather, brother and son did too.
I want to be as supportive as I can this time of year, but for me pink doesn't really cut it. I actually almost hate pink this time of year. To me it's hard to see the words HOPE, FAITH, and LOVE and think them especially concerning breast cancer. BUT the fabulous Kim from Overall Beauty has Joby Nail Art Stickers for Breast Cancer Awareness and they are a really great affordable and easy way for someone to show their support not only this month but any month.
Today I've done a mani that shows how I feel about my sister and breast cancer.
Sometimes it's all about the pink and hope--sometimes it is dark. I love this mani though and it combines two things that are important to me--my love of nail art and the love I have for my sister.
Despite the simple look of this mani it wasn't. I used the angel's wings image from Red Angel 115 but I needed them spread apart a bit more so I had to stamp them one at a time and then put the ribbon in the middle. I used the gorgeous OPI DS Extravagance and then sponged on Wet n Wild Black creme to darken the tips. I then sponged on Jade Magia Negra a black holo over the black to give me a holo gradient as my base.
While this time of year with all the Breast Cancer Awareness can be very hard on me, it's not too hard on me to say the most important thing anyone can do about Breast Cancer is to simply be aware. You need to realize this is something that can happen to anyone in your life at any given moment. This is not a cancer exclusive to women. Don't be flippant about it if you are diagnosed with it. When I first learned my sister had it I said, "Ok it's just breast cancer--this is a curable cancer" Not all breast cancer IS curable. My sister had triple negative breast cancer--a very aggressive form of breast cancer that is not hormone driven therefore cannot be easily treated with hormone therapy. She was cancer free for nearly 5 years and then it returned. She had her breasts removed and again I thought her breasts are gone so she can't get this again.
WRONG--having your breasts removed does not mean you cannot get breast cancer--breast tissue is deep and it's more than on the surface of your body. Once Lisa's cancer returned the 2nd time after nearly 5 years of being dormant it returned every single year until she finally succumbed to it after 8 years. She went through radiation and chemotherapy each time. EACH TIME she took poison into her body to try to kill the cancer trying to kill her. Chemotherapy is the worst thing anyone can ever go through in their entire life--trust me I know--it destroyed my sister's body and it killed my father.
YET hundreds of thousands of women and men will take chemotherapy as a treatment to cure their cancer. They willing loose their hair--and not just the hair on their head, but also their eyebrows and eyelashes, to save their life. They go through excruciating pain and suffering simply to stay alive. Radiation makes them tired and radiation to the brain makes them confused and forgetful. Chemotherapy causes permanent damage to their nerves and they suffer neuropathy to their hands and feet. You can lose your toenails and fingernails while undergoing treatment. Your vision can blur and change with chemotherapy. You will lose your appetite and food may never taste the same to you again.
And still hundreds and thousands of women and men will endure this suffering to live. Their families will sit by and suffer silently as they watch their loved ones go through this--some of these family members will rejoice because some will be cured--others will be like me angry and horribly sad that their loved one endured so much pain and suffering only to die. And sometimes it's easy to say "Without the treatment I would not have had 8 more years with my sister" but other times it's easy to say "It's not fair she suffered and went through all of that for nothing"
So this time of year, when you see pink and are asked to donate, when someone asks you to do those silly facebook games--try to really think about breast cancer and make yourself TRULY aware of it. Try to realize it's something that affects more than women--and more than one person. Breast cancer affects an entire family and all the friends of the person who has it. Try to remember the treatment we use most often to cure breast is POISON. Don't be flip, like I was at first, and think it's a curable disease. Try to think if there's anyone you know who's had it or has it and call them up and say--How can I help you today?
To all my readers who are survivors--I'm thankful--so thankful you are. To all my readers who lost someone to this horrible cancer--my arms reach out to you for a virtual hug. I hope someday no one will ever have to be made aware of breast cancer--because it WILL be a curable disease. Until then do the best you can to educate yourself and don't ever think it's something that will never touch your life.
