Its been about 4 years since Ive had a mammogram. Shame on me.
I stopped after I went through the repeated 6-month ultra-sound monitoring required for suspect spots, common with dense breasts.
Yes, I have dense breasts.
If youre like me, I dread a mammogram for so many reasons. It hurts. My boobs dont like to be flattened, and while my pain tolerance is rather high, breast pain hurts so bad!Its also inconvenient. Im not great about booking scheduled appointments that are a necessary in life. Its not that Im fearful. Rather, Im loathe to do something that feels required compared to pumping out a fun new marketing campaign or an email like this one.
Im certainly not practicing what I preach when it comes to women taking control of their health.
So, Im writing this Friday email as a reminder to book a mammogram during this month of Breast Cancer Awareness for me, as much as it is a reminder for you.
Beyond life getting in the way, mammograms have become something to be feared, mostly due to journalistic hype or new schemes for securing a profit.
Gennev's Chief Medical Officer, Dr Rebecca Dunsmoor-Su, penned a bold and transparent article on the Myths About Breast Cancer Screening.
In it, she debunks the notion that practitioners earn anything from recommending mammograms. She takes on scare tactics about the levels of radiation used in mammograms (which is less than what youre exposed to in two months of living on our planet).
Its a 45-second read that is your best defense during this month of breast cancer awareness. Most of all, I love her call-to-action to donate to breast cancer services for more women. If you have the means, I urge you to do the same, so all women have access to breast cancer screening.
Some options to consider are the American Cancer Association, Susan G. Komen, Planned Parenthood or a similar organization. More than ever, I urge you to do two things:
- Book a screening if you havent had one in the past year
- Reach out to a loved one who has survived to let her know that you care about her
If you care to share how you reflect, engage in, or respond to Breast Cancer Awareness Month, please shoot me an email at jill@gennev.com. Id love to hear from you.
Jill
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