#self exams

So in October I had my 6 month MRI of my breasts. They found two spots of “enhancement.” I burst into tears at work when I got the call, I was out of commission for like 30 minutes.

Next step was a MRI assisted biopsy. Fun times, they could only see one spot. Turns out clear, but now I need surgery for the other spot.

So a wire-localized biopsy was scheduled for this past week. They literally put a fucking wire in my breast to point to the area to biopsy. It’s gross, don’t Google it. The surgeon also tried to revise my previous scar because of the keloid.

Good news, still cancer free, but emotionally traumatized.

It Doesn’t Take Body Parts to be a Woman

Donna: “You think that if you got no uterus and no breasts, you’re still technically a woman?” Erin: “Sure you are. Yeah, you just…you’re actually a happier woman because you don’t have to worry about maxi-pads and underwire.”

This quote from the Erin Brockovich movie resonated with me to the core.  In 1991, due to female complications, I ended up having a total hysterectomy.  I would tell my…

Oh not tmi at all! I once watched a documentary where they ran vulva health workshops where they taught women how to use hand mirrors to do self-exams and it was so cool! They did a lot of women’s health tours like that during the 70s and 80s.

A video describing testicular cancer self-exams. 

When it was published in February of last year, it was the first such ad I had ever seen. Ads and videos for breast cancer self-exam are everywhere, but this is the only one for testicular cancer that was so popular. 

Video by Ryan Reynolds 

"In an incredibly touching tribute to [The Divinyls] frontwoman, Chrissy Amphlett, some of Australia's top singers have recorded a largely a capella version for a video encouraging women to self-examine their breasts for lumps. 

Amphlett, one of the most shockingly sexual pop artists of the 1990s, died from breast cancer on April 21, 2013. According to Billboard, an ultrasound and mammogram initially missed the cancer, which Amphlett ended up finding on her own through self-examination. 

Friends say her dying wish was that her 1990 hit song could become a reminder for all women to check themselves regularly for lumps and other signs of breast cancer. So Australian advocacy group Cancer Council NSW (New South Wales) worked with Amphlett's widower and supporters to create the beautiful rendition below.

The singers are Connie Mitchell, Deborah Conway, Kate Cerebrano, Katie Noonan, Little Pattie, Megan Washington, Olivia Newton-John, Sarah Blasko, Sarah McLeod and Suze DeMarchi. You can watch interviews with each of them on Amphlett's YouTube channel." [x]