Life gets busy, and we tend to focus more on caring for others, and make our own health the last priority. We take ourselves for granted and, sometimes ignore some red alerts. In this month of Breast Cancer Awareness, it’s crucial to pay attention to our health and our bodies. Remember the gut feeling … we should trust it! When things are objectively fine, this is normally a non-issue. However, when the stress of taking care of everyone else is prolonged, it eventually affects our own physical and mental health. When this interruption happens, it’s important to take a step back and figure out how we can include ourselves in our list of people to care about.
There are two things we can do immediately …
Be attentive and conduct an inspection. It’s best to do this in the shower, as we are already cleaning ourselves. When we are aware of our body, we could easily spot anything irregular.
Have regular health check-ups with your doctor. A yearly physical, including a mammogram, after age forty for both men and women, and those high risks with family history of cancers, are highly recommended. Have an open discussion with your healthcare professionals, as everyone’s needs are different.
When we are in tune with our own bodies, we can see the early signs of any abnormality.
October is “Breast Cancer Awareness” month and in honor of ALL those angels in heaven, current patients and survivors … I’d like to share my story.
Celebrating 20-years as a survivor! Early detection with self-examination and mammogram saved my life, nurturing my lifestyle post-treatment made me thrive” I’ve always maintained a healthy life style, with regular exercise, occasional wines and I never smoke. However, I also had very demanding high-tech marketing job that made me travel globally, while juggling two teenage boys.
I don’t have a genetic history of breast cancer, or any form of cancer within my immediate ancestry. But I also know that self-examination and a yearly mammogram is necessary at a certain age, so I’ve been vigilant. This mindset saved my life.
I found a lump on my left breast prior to my scheduled mammogram and immediately went to see my doctor. The imaging revealed a small tumor and a needle biopsy was ordered. I was diagnosed a few days before New Year’s Eve in 2002. I remember everything about that day, a call from my doctor came and I knew from the tone of his voice. It was revealed as stage 2 and I was immediately scheduled to see a team of medical specialists to discuss my treatment options.
I opted for a radical mastectomy, then 6-rounds of chemotherapy, followed by the 3-months of radiation. I responded very well to the treatment as I was healthy to begin with. Many were not lucky, and twenty years ago there’s a high mortality rate, lucky for us today is has significantly improved to 85% survival rate. I was bald all summer of 2003. I waited 3-years to undergo a breast reconstruction, and opted for a natural tissue transfer.
I researched the recovery and healing after treatment, as I knew I need to recharge and rejuvenate my cell system. The chemotherapy killed the cancer cells, but it also affected the good cells which regulate our immune system. This ordeal led me to completely re-prioritized my lifestyle.
I found Gerson Juice Therapy (combination of fresh vegetables and fruits), an organic and holistic approach to compliment the modern medicine, which I took every morning for 15years and it worked. Most importantly, my positive attitude, the love and support of my family and friends helped me through the toughest of times.
There are 300K diagnosis every year, and 10% are men, that’s 30K and still a high number. Many men don’t think it would even happen to them, but they were wrong.
Karmascore can help you focus on what’s important … self care, mental wellness and understanding that the company that cares is the company you keep. You need to be aware of the toxic relationships that are weighing you down and contributing to your overwhelming busy life. We can help assess the relationships that affect the positive and negative aspects of your daily life, live stress-free and be happy.
Let’s be in-charge folks, let’s nurture, measure and thrive! By Virginia C. Dori CMO at Karmascore Nurture * Measure* Thrive Karmascore is woman-founded relationship analytics company, a mobile app solution for relationship management and scoring, for today’s focus on selfcare and mental wellness. It’s the first of its kind that tracks progress and efficiency, to build and manage better relationships, measure the moments that matter and eliminate stress. Download our free app from iOS or Google Play App Store, and for more information visit: www.karmascoreapp.com
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