Transcript:
Greetings, beloved in Christ. It is October and that means it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And as is my habit, I am bringing you another video emphasizing the importance of early detection and regular mammograms. Did you know that there are different types of breast cancer, and that the type of breast cancer can dictate everything from how detectable the cancer is, to how it’s treated, to the odds of recurrence?
When I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018, my oncologist said I was a poster child for regular mammograms and early diagnosis. My particular type of breast cancer is hard to detect, especially in people that have dense tissue. But it was because I had a series of mammograms that my radiologist was able to detect the abnormality and send me for further tests so that my cancer was diagnosed at stage one. A stage one diagnosis means so much for outcomes, and I’m grateful every day that I heeded my sister’s insistence that I get my mammogram every year.
Did you know that most folks who are diagnosed with breast cancer are folks that have no family history and no genetic markers? This is why it is so important for women, especially women over 40, to get their mammograms, to start that practice, and keep it up faithfully. It makes a difference.
This October, I ask that you encourage someone you love to get their mammogram, that if you are over 40, you get your own. I ask also, that you pray for those who are living with breast cancer, that you pray prayers of Thanksgiving for me and for others who are continuing to be cancer-free, and that you remember those who died of breast cancer.
It is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and what we should be aware of is that this is our one body and no matter how much we strive to take care of it, things happen. And that’s why we are blessed with medical interventions and tests that can help us live our best life. Blessings.