Many times as mothers we always put everyone else’s needs in front of our own. Recently, I had a health scare and needed to see my doctor. I had felt a lump in my breast when I took a shower. It did scare me, but I didn’t rush off to my doctor immediately. I can’t tell you why. It was in October, ironically, breast cancer awareness month. I talked to my husband about it and finally did make the appointment to get checked.
My doctor checked me and referred me to get an ultrasound and mammogram. She couldn’t say for sure that nothing was wrong, but didn’t think that what she felt was concerning. That eased my mind slightly, but I knew I wouldn’t feel complete relief until I had my tests done.
In early December I had my tests done. It was very nerve-wracking going to the Yale Smilow Breast Center to get these tests. Honestly, I was a wreck. My husband went with me and had to wait in the waiting room while I had everything done. It took about an hour and I was given my answer right away. The lump is not in the breast tissue. It’s in my skin. They weren’t concerned about it and told me I can see a dermatologist if I wanted to explore this more.
Why Moms Or Women Don’t Make Themselves A Priority
Time
Many times our schedules are full with our children’s activities. I know with girl scouts, 4H, band, after-school clubs, and softball we have a lot of events and activities to shuttle the kids off to. On top of that, I have my own work schedule to manage. I also have my workout and running routine I want to stick to.
Energy
Let’s face it, being a parent is a lot of work! Keeping up with them, the house, and managing my business is a LOT of work. I know it sounds like I am making excuses, and maybe I am!
Denial
Sometimes you don’t want to find out what is really going wrong. But as a parent, it is extremely important to take care of yourself. I was scared of finding out what might be wrong. It would be very unfair to my family if I neglected myself and let something go that should be taken care of.
How To Make Your Health A Priority
Self-Breast Exams and Mammograms
I had found my lump while in the shower and that’s where I do my breast exams. I was at the #BlogHer conference in August and visited the Know Your Girls booth. They shared with me that while all of us are at risk for breast cancer, including men. Black women in the U.S. are about 40% more likely to die from breast cancer than white women. That’s a scary number.
Here’s how you can take charge of your breast health
- Know what’s normal for your breast tissue.
- Make an appointment for a mammogram
- KEEP that appointment
Here’s more information on how to do your own breast self-examination.
What Else Do You Need To Take Care of?
Yearly Physical
Most insurance companies cover the cost of a wellness visit. Cigna has a large initiative to help individuals know their numbers. When I was at the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend, I was invited to the Cigna Blogger Meet Up. We had a catered lunch in the General Motors Executive Suite above Test Track and then played a vegetable and fruit racing game to raise awareness of knows our numbers to keep us healthy.
I participated in the free screening to have my numbers checked. I think this is a great resource to help individuals find out about health conditions that may be going on in your body, but you aren’t aware that you are at risk because you don’t feel any different.
Cigna was also the presenting sponsor for the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend, so they were offering the health screenings at the Expo. They do this every year and I always participate so I can get a quick peak at my numbers in between my doctor appointments.
Skin Care
My mother has melanoma. I’m almost 47 years old and when I was a kid, sunscreen wasn’t something we used diligently. In fact, we would lather on baby oil and lay in the sun to burn. Or we went to tanning salons to get a tan for the prom, weddings, and vacations.
Now skin cancer rates are on the rise. As a parent I always slather sunscreen on my kids since they were babies. I am so proud of my kids to know that when they are heading out to the pool that they know to put on their sunblock. My son accidentally got a bad sunburn because he was in the pool without his sun shirt and sunblock. I felt like the worst parent in the world when he was crying in pain from that sunburn. I also felt like I was going to cause him to have skin cancer because of it.
As I write this, I know I have to make an appointment to have my skin checked. I already had some pre-cancerous marks removed from my skin two years ago. So it is important to stay on top of any changes in your skin. Do you know the ABC’s of skin cancer screening?
Dental Care
I used to HATE going to the dentist. I would rather go to the gynecologist than the dentist. Every year I would make my appointment and then cancel it. In the past 10 years I have been much better at keeping and going to my dentist.
Are You Going To Make Your Health A Priority
There are so many things we can’t control. But taking care of ourselves is one of them. I want to share with you that a friend of mine who is very diligent with her health and taking care of herself and breast exams has recently found out that she has breast cancer.
I shared a video from Fitz in my blog post about my running goals. Fitz is well-known in the runDisney community. She is one of my biggest cheerleaders! At the end of every race she is there to give me a hug and NEVER minds receiving a sweaty hug from her running friends!
She shared the announcement about her breast cancer with us over the weekend. She takes care of herself and gets her exams done diligently. While she had her exam in December and it was clear, she found a lump in February and had it tested and will now be moving forward to fight it.
This is just proof that you have to take care of yourself, do your self exams. Thankfully Fitz did have a clean scan three months ago and when she noticed something wasn’t right she immediately called her doctor 30 minutes later and proceeded to get things checked. I will be Fitz’s cheerleader now as she goes through her fight.
Take Care Of Yourself! Do you keep your appointments? If not, please do yourself and your family a favor and make your appointments and be well!