It seems that the government is always looking for a chance to label a month National fill-in-the-blank Month or Blank Awareness Month.
February is most noted for Black History Month, but it is also National Snack Food Month and National Boost Your Self-Esteem Month, April is National Poetry Month, but people who enjoy pets and pecans celebrate Pets are Wonderful Month and National Pecan Month. December is AIDS Awareness Month and the lesser known International Calendar Awareness Month.
But one month in particular holds a special place for me. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I have a personal obligation and connection with this month, although I do love pecans.
In 2001, my aunt Marcia was diagnosed with breast cancer. Our family hoped and prayed for her to beat it, and after a long struggle and a double mastectomy it seemed she had. However, in 2003 we got the bad news that the cancer had returned. This time she endured a hysterectomy and tried a new experimental treatment, which once again seemed to work. A year later the cancer they thought had disappeared resurfaced in her bones and her doctors tried another treatment. In late 2004, my family went on a reunion cruise and she was in high spirits. But the following February, the doctors told her the cancer had come back and had spread into her lungs.
Over the next few months she underwent another experimental treatment, but the cancer was getting progressively worse and on Sept. 4, 2005, surrounded by her loving family, and only 26 days before her 50th birthday, she passed away. As you can imagine, her death was unbearable, especially for her two children, now 22 and 25. My family and I stayed in Virginia for the funeral and then returned to California, our hearts heavy and our souls torn. Over the next few years my family learned to cope with the empty hole that Marcia left. Even though the pain will never die, to me it seemed easier move on, though I dare not speak for the rest of the family.
With October starting, many businesses and families are taking the time to recognize all the women who have lost, won and are still fighting the battle against this deadly disease. Throughout the month, the NFL is doing its part by incorporating the pink ribbon on the teams' uniforms and fields. Some restaurants are also participating in breast cancer awareness by posting up donation boxes. Panera Bread is doing their part by selling a pink ribbon bagel during the month and by donating a percentage of the sales to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Even Ball State is doing its part to promote awareness and to help research by placing the pink donation boxes around campus.
Being the most common form of cancer in women, according to the Center for Disease Control, it is important that we recognize the women who are currently fighting, have fought and won and especially those who have fought and lost. My family will always remember our dear "Aunt Mush" and hold a special place in our hearts for her husband, son and daughter. With the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, it is a great milestone in the research on this deadly disease.
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