It is that time of year again…

(in my best announcer voice)…

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH!!!!

Everywhere you turn, you see that pink ribbon. It pops up on everything from cartons of eggs to toilet paper, but do you think people are really aware? I don’t.

Before being diagnosed, I was a happy, 28 year old, mother of two and nursing student. The last thing I thought about was breast cancer. Yeah, I saw the pink ribbons and knew what they stood for, but it didn’t mean anything to me.

When my husband found a lump in my breast, I knew that I should get it checked, but I decided I didn't have the time. Three months later, just after graduation, I finally made an appointment, because the lump was getting bigger. Although my doctor felt it was probably nothing, he sent me for testing. Those tests revealed that I had a 6 cm tumor in my left breast that was Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma. I had breast cancer at the age of 29!!

Now at age 32, I have made it through chemo, having both of my breasts removed, radiation, and breast reconstruction. Yeah, my breasts are fake, I have scars front and back, but I AM ALIVE!!!

Knowing that I am one of the lucky ones, who are still surviving, I try to do my part to open the eyes of as many people as I can. Everyone needs to know that (according to the Young Survival Coalition) there are more than 250,000 women living in the U.S. who were diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 40 or under, and approximately 10,000 young women will be diagnosed in the next year. Breast cancer is also the leading cause of cancer death in women ages 15 to 54.



Not only do we need to spread awareness that this disease is affecting so many young women, but we also need to raise money. Let’s face it, without money for research, how can we find a cure? My Relay for Life team, Beth’s Believers, raises money all year long for the American Cancer Society, but research is expensive and everyone needs to do their part.

Save the ta-tas (www.savethetatas.com) commits 5% of every sale to the Save the ta-tas Foundation and many of their authorized retailers participate in their donation matching program. From 2004-2010, they have donated roughly 50% of their profits. These funds are then used to support independent scientific research. How awesome is that?!

One of the gifts I received when I was first diagnosed was a Save the Tatas car magnet. I loved it so much, that when that one became sun bleached, I ordered another one for myself and one for my husband. Everyone who saw it liked it. Eventually one person liked it so much; they decided to steal it from my car!!!

Seriously, you don’t have to steal; you can buy one for yourself!!!!!!

My new favorite item that they have available is a shirt that says “Imagine a World without Cancer.

Save the tatas has been nice enough to provide this shirt for one of my lucky readers.




TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY…

1. Become a follower of my blog (on the right side of the page).
2. Leave a comment on this blog entry that includes your shirt size and an email address where you can be contacted. (ONLY ONE COMMENT PER PERSON)





The winner will be chosen one week from today.

GOOD LUCK!!