Couponing For You

This post is not coupon or savings related, but I received an email just now about this website and I felt compelled to share it with you all.

Cancer is something that so many of us have been affected by either personally, or to someone close to us. My mother is a TWO time breast cancer survivor and I will always be grateful that due to the advancements of medical research and technology, she is still in our lives today.

My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer for the first time when she was just 36 years old. So very young to have cancer. But she was brave, and she fought through it. She underwent vigorous radiation and chemo therapy treatments to help rid of the cancer. A few years after, she was yet again diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time and went through yet another round of radiation and chemo. She fought and survived. In late 2009, she had another scare and thought that she may have had cancer for a third time, but fortunately, she didn’t. We also learned during this time that we were positive for the BRCA Gene, which increases the risk for breast cancer.  After a very long and hard decision, she decided to go ahead and have a double mastectomy to help decrease the odds of breast cancer returning.

My mom is among a very small percentage of women who suffer from something known as Post Mastectomy Pain Syndrome. This condition only affects 23.9% of women who undergo mastectomies and there is very little research to date on PMPS. I have watched her for nearly 2 years now suffer from this awful pain and doctors do not know how to treat it since it is so rare. After contracting cellulitis at the site of the mastectomy, she finally encountered a pain management doctor who did have some experience in treating PMPS and in the last few weeks and finally seen a bit of relief due to new medications.

I had to have my first mammogram when I was just 26 years old because my mom’s doctors recommend that daughters of women with breast cancer receive their first mammogram 10 years prior to when their mother was diagnosed for the first time. I have to have alternating mammograms and breast MRIs every 6 months. Doing this allow me to have the earliest detection of breast cancer. Not only did my mom have breast cancer twice, my paternal grandmother had it twice, and my first cousin had it twice as well. Cancer is dominant in my family, not just breast cancer, but all types of cancer. I also have the BRCA gene which increases my risk of developing cancer even more.

The reason that I am writing this blog entry today is to share with my readers the importance of getting yearly mammograms and being in charge of your breast health. Early screening can truly help to save your life.  I received an email that had a link to a really great informative website and that prompted me to share my mom’s story with you and so that you can have valuable tools to learn all you can about breast cancer and what you can do to help with early detection.

I urge you to check out Beyond The Shock and spend some time learning about breast cancer. I even learned some things that I did not know and found it to be very helpful. After you check it out, be sure to share with your friends and loved ones as well. You could very well just save a life.