I’m too afraid to check myself!
I don’t have time to check myself!
I’ve found a lump but ill got to the doctor next week.
These are all statements I have heard from girls, these are girls who are nurses, teachers, bakers, mums, sisters, grandmothers and even girls who have already had Breast Cancer. If there is one piece of advice I can give to all women – don’t delay check yourself, make it a priority.
Download Breast Cancer Irelands free to download app
https://www.breastcancerireland.com/education-awareness/our-free-app/
The app will give you a discreet monthly reminder to check your breasts, it contains a tutorial on how to check your breast correctly and gives details of signs to look out for.
You would think I myself would be extra vigilant after having Breast Cancer, well I can honestly say that I dread checking myself. The fear that I will find something haunts me. The fear that I will have a reoccurrence tears me apart at times. Anxiety has just become a part of my life. But instead of being consumed with FEAR, I try to power through it, I take a big deep breath hope for the best and I do check myself.
We have no control in this life over so many things but we can control that actions we take to ensure we know our own normal as that is what will give us a fighting chance of early detection. I have said on numerous occasions that before I had Breast Cancer I was so uninformed about all aspects of the illness. From the importance of checking myself monthly to the signs to look out for. I sometimes sit in disbelief at how uneducated I was about something that would become a huge part of my life.
Approx. 2800 new cases are diagnosed annually; it affects 1 in 9 women and sadly results in approx. 689 deaths annually.
With statistics like these we need to be proactive in protecting ourselves. So let’s all take our heads out of the sand, press pause on anxiety and get checking.
What is the worst that can happen; you may find something that turns out to be Breast Cancer
What is the positive you may find it early enough that you will make a full recovery, ignoring it won’t prevent it.
