PSA!

My sister-in-law's post about Alice being a month old (already!) reminded me of something I wanted to post about...

I want YOU to do a self-exam!

HAVE YOU DONE YOUR MONTHLY SELF BREAST EXAM LADIES?

My guess is that most of my female friends and family did when they found out about what was going on with me (I'm hoping at least!) in early to mid August.  Whelp, it's mid-September.  Time flies.

Not sure how?  Here's some easy steps:

Pick a method (circles, up and down, whatever) and stick to it.  Notice any differences between breasts, changes, etc.  It's most helpful to do at the same time in your menstrual cycle.  Any concerns?  Tell your doc (family, gyno, whatever).  If you're not sure you're doing it right, show your doc and let them correct you.

Do self exams prevent cancer? No.  Can they help detect it earlier?  Absolutely.  Does early detection allow for additional treatment options and boost survival and quality of life statistics?  You bet.

Guys, you're not immune, you've got your own stuff to take care of: How to Do a Testicular Self-Exam.  Plus, it's also on you to remind your sisters, mom, wives, girlfriends, etc.  And hey, if you want to join in and help them do the checks (talking about the wives and girlfriends here), they may not mind...

Add it to your calendar, use one of the smart phone apps designed to remind you and provide info, whatever.  Just get it done.  Make it like paying your rent or mortgage or any other monthly task.  I wish I had been more diligent...I would have been able to provide more information and perhaps earlier information to my doctor.  I know we're still a few weeks from official Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but cancer doesn't wait, so you shouldn't either.

THUD.

That's me jumping off my soapbox.  

In other news...

-I bought a VivoFit  activity tracker so I don't get chemo-lazy about not being active throughout the day....or if I do, at least I know about it.

-After working a full day yesterday including moving boxes, restocking expo products, etc, I crashed at about 8 pm...apparently my endurance levels are dropping.

-I finally ordered a wig!  Pictures when it arrives...thanks to the broomball team for generous gift certificate to our favorite catalog to help with it.

-I started paying bills (exclamation point???)  Trying to match EOBs with actual bills is a PITA.  Forthcoming post on that at some point.

-Oh Peyton, why couldn't you have just not thrown that pick...

-Had my first booze in awhile...

mmmm brunch bloody mary...

at a brunch that could have been deserving of it's own blog post.  Great patio at a great place, Lily's in the Oregon District.  Unfortunately our server was...well, something to be desired.  We ended up getting the meal comped due to waiting literally an hour and a half for our food, which we alerted staff to.  It was tasty, and the hot sauce (that said server then "borrowed" off of our table mid-meal) was delicious.  All in all though, a few hours spent with good friends having great conversation isn't something to be complained about, so was happy to start my Sunday in this way!

Thanks for reading, now go