Bringing Awareness

Hello everyone! I hope you all are having a great week! I thought I’d take a break in my three-part series to talk about something else! I wanted to bring up something significant to me and to make aware of all the women out there too!

About 3 years ago, my mother was diagnosed with stage one cervical cancer; it came as a great shock to my family and me. I have always seen my mother as a strong woman who would always be there in my life. But when she was diagnosed, I realized even though she is a strong woman, she is not immune to the disease. Thankfully we caught it early, and through a few rounds of chemo and radiation, she was able to beat it.

When we go for check-ups, we never want to hear the word “cancer” come out of a doctor’s mouth. Any type of cancer is scary, and it puts your life into perspective; it also makes you question things you thought you wouldn’t have to think about until you’re late in adulthood. In 2018, an estimated 570,000 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer worldwide, and about 311,000 women died from the disease, cervical cancer is caused by HPV, and is a malignant tumor on the lower part of the uterus that can be prevented by pap smears and screening, cervical cancer is the 4th most common cancer found in women.

Being a woman is hard, we have to menstruate every month, along with having to deal with hormones, take birth control to regular our periods and not to have a baby. I could go on about how if you are born a woman, you will have trials and tribulations and how to fit in a world mostly dominated by men who think they know what they are talking about. And we end up with a disease.

It’s essential to get regular check-ups and screenings. That way, you can keep track of your health and be up to date with vaccinations. The earlier you catch something the better because you will have more options on how to deal with it and be able to fight it. If you don’t find out that you or a loved one has cancer, know that you are not alone. Its important to find people to share your feelings with and have a support group when things get hard.

On a side note did you know that there are different color ribbons for different types of cancers? Or that there is a month of awareness dedicated to that cancer? If you would like to learn more about it see the link below!

https://www.choosehope.com/cancer-awareness-months-calendar/