Today, it’s all about the girls. And by girls, I mean ta-tas, breasteses, balloons, melons...you get the idea. 

Everywhere I went today, people were talking about Angelina Jolie’s New York Times editorial about deciding to undergo a preventative double mastectomy since she carried the BRCA gene.   By “everywhere,” I mean I just happened to be having my annual mammogram today. When I brought it up to my technician, she raved about Jolie’s decision and felt that it was 100% the way to go. As she manipulated my girls to and fro, she voiced very strong opinions about lumpectomies (not in favor) and mastectomies (in favor).

We’ve made such strides against breast cancer, but the stats are still staggering. Most women know them: A woman has a 1:8 chance of developing breast cancer; every three minutes, there is a new diagnosis of breast cancer; approximately 230,480 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.

Speaking of strides, while I was galavanting around New Orleans two weekends ago, three of my friends were walking 39 miles over two days in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Washington, D.C. This year was their fifth anniversary of doing the walk together. My admiration for them knows no bounds. I’ve done a half-marathon, and the thought of doing a marathon and a half-marathon in subsequent days is unimaginable to me. They have walked in rain, in heat, in cold...when they’ve had other events that they scampered off to as soon as they crossed the finish line, but they remain committed. I’m very proud of them. 

It’s Chooseday Tuesday, so today today’s $10 (+$90) goes to Karen Burbage in gratitude for the strides she made this year. (I donate $100 to one of the three women every year, so I didn’t want to only contribute $10)

Walkers are expected to raise $1,800. That means each walker’s money allows three uninsured women who have lost a breast to cancer to get a prosthesis or provides counseling for 24 newly diagnosed women or provides 180 low-income patients transportation to doctors’ appointments, according to the Avon site. Since the Avon Walk started in 2003, walkers have raised more than $472 million.  That’s taking care of a lot of breasts.

May 14: Avon Walk for Breast Cancer

Why I started this blog

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