October Is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Awareneness Month and I am giving my all-out support. I have changed my background to pink polka dots in line with the campaign (Pink For October).

I am well aware of the possibilities of breast cancer and its prevalence nowadays because I myself had some "breast cancer scare" way back in college. After watching a self-breast examination ad on TV, I did it and noticed two bumps on the upper and lower part of my right breast. I then informed my mom and she accompanied me to an ob-gyn to have it checked. I was given a strict diet of all-natural and organic food and advised to take Parlodel (bromocriptine mesylate) once daily. A course of Parlodel therapy may be used to reduce the tumor mass prior to surgery but we were given hope that it might be benign all along and that best case scenario would be that the mass will disappear. I was on that strict regimen for almost half a year until I noticed the mass on the lower part disappear. Good heavens yeah? But wait, the one on the upper portion developed and increased in size. I was scared to bits. We headed back to my doctor and I was advised to undergo surgery, have the mass excised and tested for cancer cells. I was in denial, I was too young to have it, I couldn't have cancer.

We went to a family surgeon and he too recommended that the mass be excised once and for all. Two days after that conversation I was already on the operating table of the late Dr. Ermac in San Pedro Hospital. He was with another doctor and for the whole duration of the operation I was wide awake and hearing all the golf stuff they were both talking about. It was my first operation and I was really scared of the amount of blood that gushed out. I could not feel a thing because of the three shots of anesthesia but my brain knew that the process hurt. I wanted to cry but no tear would fall. I was wide awake and fervently praying that I don't have cancer and my mom is outside the operating room saying her prayers too. I was deeply touched when my church at that time had to schedule a prayer session for me while the operation is ongoing. They were in our church asking for God's guidance and mercy. They were resigned to the fact though that whatever God's plans were at that time was ultimately the best for me and it has it's purpose. A little more than an hour has passed and I am being sutured already and bandaged. I was given a slew of pain killers and other medicines I could not remember now.

It was an ordeal waiting for the biopsy result. I was still able to go to school but I could not carry heavy items, I could not laugh hard, I could not even wash my clothes and do some other stuff I normally do because the pain of the wound would be unbearable. I remember spending nights crying when it rains because the cold just makes the wound hurt like no other. I would sometimes skip class in air conditioned classrooms because of it. After one week, I got the results and the mass was ruled out as FIBROADENOMA. Fibroadenoma of the breast is a benign fibroepithelial tumor characterized by proliferation of both glandular and stromal elements. I felt so relieved as I walked out of the hospital. I could not be thankful enough to God and to all those who prayed for me and helped me get through the ordeal of healing. I am scarred forever but I wear it proudly.

I may not have had cancer but I know a lot of friends who had breast cancer, some even undergoing chemotherapy right now. One of my godmothers has had one of her breasts removed and just recently she was diagnosed that her other breast has cancer cells too after being cancer-free for many years. Please include her in your prayers and that she will stay strong and be a testament to not let cancer ever pull you down. You are still as normal as you are ought to be.

I am supporting the Breast Cancer Awareness Month because I want to educate every girl/woman out there that cancer is inevitable and it could happen to anyone. What we all could do is stay educated on what to do and how to avoid doing things that may lead to getting one. Keep in mind that a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and low in sweets and processed meats, may help lower the risk of breast cancer. When breast cancer is detected at an early stage of development, a number of effective treatment options are available. A woman and her physician will choose the treatment that is right for her, based on the location and extent of the cancer, her age and preferences, and the risks and benefits of each treatment.

Awareness is key. Spread the word.

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