save them....

today is october 1st.

october is breast cancer awareness month....

according to the CDC:
*breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women

*in 2004 over 186,000 women and 1,800 men were diagnosed

*in 2004 over 40,000 women and 350 men died from the disease

*it is one of the fastest growing diseases in women under 40

*the survival rate increases dramatically with early detection...this means self exams are imperative!

I have a cancer survivor grandmother of over 30 years.....she's almost 80 and still travels to Hawaii every winter to spend time with her friends...she's living on her own, sharp as a wit, and is someone that I could have lost at a very young age had she not been one of the lucky ones to survive.

Back in 2004, one of my high school classmates, Erica Bald, died of breast cancer at age 30. She left behind a husband and 2 small children...Erica was full of life, and while we drifted after high school, she did keep in touch with a mutual friend until the end. She had an amazing smile and laugh and it was shocking to learn of her death at such an early age 4 years ago...

I know that anyone reading this knows of someone, *someone* who has either lived or died from this diesase...

I rarely get preachy...not meaning to be so here. But for the sake of knowing how important girlfriends, wives, sisters, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and friends are to all of us, I felt a few words about this topic and the importance of self exams would be worthy...be well...~jd