"I Relay Because of the Lump I Found"

"I am a Relay for Life participant for endless reasons. I have known, unfortunately, numerous family members, friends, neighbors and co-workers who have gone through personal battles with cancer. I have supported them in the ways I have known how to, and being a member of Relay for Life is on of those ways.

I remember the night I found a lump in my left breast. I have always been really good about giving myself regular breast exams for years. This particular time, I was making popcorn in my kitchen when I chose to do my exam. I figured I had a few minutes to spare, so why not?

And there it was, it was hard & very round. It was as though somebody implanted a marble for me to find in a sneaky game of hide and seek.

I took a deep breath, grabbed my popcorn and headed to my computer. I'm not one to really look up symptoms online, I always end up diagnosing myself with 10 different tragic diseases within 5 minutes. Instead, I went to the American Cancer Society website for more information with what I should do next. Just as I thought, they had all the information I needed at the time.

I made an appointment with my physician and when I saw him, I explained what I found and he gave me an extensive breast exam. He sent me to get an ultra sound a few days later. After my ultra sound, the breast specialist scheduled me for a biopsy for a week later where a pathologist would determine on the spot if the lump was cancerous, because they were unable to tell from the ultra sound alone. The breast specialist was amazing, so kind and was right there in my corner. She gave me her personal cell number and told me to call, regardless of the time, if I needed to talk. She made me feel like I wasn't in this alone.

I am fortunate enough to say that my lump is currently not cancerous, although as long as it remains there, I'll get it checked regularly with hopes it remains just a lump.  

I am thankful that my lump is just that, a lump. But it made me realize that without extensive research that is greatly funded by the American Cancer Society, the quick process to find out what was going on could have been a lot more difficult with unanswered questions. I am proud to say that I have found my own lump because I have been taught the proper way to do a self breast exam. But without research and the availability of information from doctors or websites like cancer.org, many might not find a lump in time.  

So that's one of the reasons why I relay. Because knowing the different cancer preventions, self exams and where I can go for more information & resources is extremely important. The American Cancer Society has done such a tremendous job with making sure so much information is available, that support groups and incredible programs are set up for those who need them. I'm proud to be a Relay participant knowing my donations are helping research, programs and support groups thrive! It feels great to be a Relay member, knowing I'm a part of such a great cause."

-Anonymous

To learn more about getting into a healthy lifestyle, cancer screening guidelines, prevention tools and lots more, visit: http://www.cancer.org/healthy/index  

To share your story as to why you relay, send Kristina, a Yorktown Relay for Life Committee member and email with your story & pictures! kcarmela89@gmail.com