PINK

Pink is the color of the month.  Pink ribbons everywhere.  On clothing.  On TV.  On facebook.  Even NFL players are sporting THE color of the month.  It's Breast Cancer Awareness month.  (And yes, I realize I am writing this a little late in the month, but better late than never...right?!)  It seems as if everybody knows or knows of somebody who has had this cancer and or any other form of cancer for that matter.  It affects all of us in one way or another.

• About 1 in 8 women in the United States (between 12 and 13%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.
• In 2010, an estimated 207,090 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 54,010 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer.
• About 1,970 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in men in 2010.  Less that 1% of all new breast cancer cases occur in men.
• About 39,840 women in the U.S. are expected to die in 2010 from breast cancer, though death rates have been decreasing since 1991.  These decreases are thought to be the result of treatment advances, earlier detection through screening, and increased awareness.
• In 2010, there are more than 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S.

These statistics were taken from BreastCancer.org

I am glad that this month is dedicated to reminding all of us the importance of this type of cancer and how much early detection is vital.  I love seeing this color everywhere.

I was speaking with my friend Mary from North Carolina this week, and at that time, she was headed to her oncologist for her yearly follow up visit.  Mary was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma earlier in her life.  If you missed reading about her amazing story, you can read about it on my blog post here.   This week, she is celebrating her 9th year of being cancer free.  9 years!  And as she was on her way to her doctor, she was expressing to me some of the feelings and thoughts she was having as she approaches this milestone in her life.  She was reflecting on her journey...from the very beginning to now.  It wasn't always an easy road for her.  At times, there were discouragement and sadness, but she stuck to her faith and had a wonderful husband and family to lend her support and she decided to fight this cancer.  Head on.  She was able to catch it just in time.  But as she reflected on her experience, I think she almost can't even believe that she has come this far.  I didn't know her during this time of her life, but I do know that she is one strong individual and she has a great spirit and love of life that is just plain contagious.  I am happy to know her and her story of living and of life.  Whether she believes it or not, I know that she has touched many lives by what she has gone thru and also by how she decided to handle this challenge in her life.  It's an inspiring story.  A story of fight...A story of survival...From this fast growing cancer inside of her.  She had faith in herself as she embraced life.
Thank you Mary, once again, for your story and most importantly, for sharing it with me and for allowing me to share it with others.  I admire you for your strength.  (And next year, for your 10th anniversary, we're throwing a big ol' party girl!)  ;)

In my last post, I shared the story of my recent surgery.  And it so happens that the University of Utah also has one, if not THE best, cancer hospitals in the county.  Well, their Burn Center sent me a PINK compression sock this month.  Yes, pink.  I'm not really a 'pink' kinda girl, but I remembered about what pink represents this month and I was happy to have that pink sock.  I was gonna wear it with pride in honor of breast cancer awareness.  I even thought of marketing this to the NFL, but I think they may wear enough pink already.. ;)  So, I'll leave them be.