to your health.

when i was in the 8th grade, i remember spending a weekend at a friend's house.  it was something i, like every other 13 year old girl, always did.  but this particular sleepover wasn't my choice, but rather, my parents arranged it so i would have some company while they were gone for the weekend.

i spent 2 sleepless nights away from home while my mom and dad spent the weekend at mercy hospital in baltimore, where my mom underwent a biopsy for a suspicious lump in her breast.  i remember getting sick to my stomach that whole weekend because i was so scared.  my mom was a symbol of my life, my strength, and she was my best friend.  the thought that she might succumb to something bigger than me or than any of us was terrifying.

thankfully, she emerged from the surgery just fine, the doctors proclaiming the happiest word in the cancer lexicon, "benign".  we all breathed a happy sigh of relief, but, unfortunately other families don't always receive such good news.

we all want to find some way to cope with the devastating effects of breast cancer.  my strategy is to be preventative.  i believe that being conscious of what you put into your body, how you treat your body, and what you do with your body can affect its health.  eat delicious, nourishing food.  go for a walk or do yoga.  STOP SMOKING.  (it's been almost a year since i've quit, and it's been the best thing i've ever done for myself!)  go to your ob-gyn every year for a check up.  i know women my age who have never been!  it's a daunting thought, but what's worse: having to put your legs up in some stirrups for a couple of minutes, or having chemotherapy, losing your hair (or worse, a breast) due to putting off preventative, maintenance checkups?  the latter, natch.  tell your sisters, moms, moms-in-law, best friends, cousins, wives, grandmothers, aunts, EVERYONE to be vigilant, be smart, and be healthy.

love your body, love your boobies, and take care of yourself.

xoxo,
m.