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   With Mother’s Day approaching, I am inspired by the wonderful articles and video I watched about breast cancer on Growing Bolder. I grew up being taught to put others before myself and used that analogy throughout my life. I remember many Christmas layaways at our local Kmart that ended with me putting back the things for my husband and myself so our kids could have a good Christmas. Through the years, I always put everyone and everything before my needs. I never put any importance on what I wore, whether I had two pair of shoes or one, whether I wore the same winter coat for five years or that my health was a priority. I never went to the Doctor unless I was in dire straits. I’m sure many of you can identify with that. So needless to say when it came to getting a mammogram, I put it off, not once but twice. The excuses were: no time to go, it was supposed to hurt anyway, I was feeling great and “no news was good news”.

    I was busy with my family, worked many 10 hour days and did not put my mammogram on the top of “list of things to do”. So life went on. Christmas of 1999, I was supposed to have the usual family Christmas get together at my house but had an aching back. It forced me to go to the Doctor. I had a new Doctor. My aching back turned out to be treatable but she asked me if I ever had a mammogram. I said no. She said she really recommended that I have one. I gave in and had it done. To my surprise, I was waiting for the “vise grip of pain” to get me but it wasn’t bad at all. The results however were much different.

     After another in depth mammogram and biopsy, the word came back positive. I ended up with surgery. I was lucky, the cancer did not spread but it was big enough that I had no choice except to opt for the radical surgery. Imagine how grateful I was that my life had been saved by getting the mammogram I had avoided for so long. The same year as my breast cancer, I had an automobile accident that almost claimed my life.  I had two life lessons in one year. While I will always still put others before myself, I now make sure when it comes to my health and the tests I need, that I am on top of the “to do list” and value my life. So with Mother’s Day almost here, I would like to say I am thankful for being alive, having another year to be with my family and being able to reach out to others to help encourage them to take that important step to get a mammogram. Taking a minute for yourself can save your life. Happy Mother’s Day!