Going Pink

This site is pink, but just for October. This is in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. After seeing some other bloggers go this route, I decided to sign up with Pink For October, too.

The idea is to educate and raise awareness about breast cancer, and if some money gets raised for breast cancer research, that's a bonus.

I was trying to think of what I know about breast cancer, and at first I thought it was virtually nothing. Then I remembered five women with close and not-so-close connections to me who were diagnosed with breast cancer. "Grandma" Fukuda and Jules' good friend Marian ultimately died because of the disease. For "Grandma" Peters, it was one of several diseases she had in the end that contributed to her death. The other two women -- Jerilyn and Chris -- are survivors, I'm happy to say.

Both Jerilyn and Chris I know through my romance writers group. In fact, Chris was a contributor to the book "Uplift : Secrets from the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivors" by Barbara Delinsky. It's an incredible book from what I've read, filled with all sorts of cancer survivor stories. It comes highly recommended.

Coincidentially, I have an appointment to get a mammogram next week. The appointment has nothing to do with this being Breast Cancer Awareness Month and everything to do with my annual physical two weeks ago. Purely routine. Apparently, since I'm pushing 40, my doctor decided to reward me with a session to get my boobs smashed in a big machine. Don't worry about the smashing, though, I've done it once before and it wasn't so bad. (Which reminds me: I need to track down those old films and bring them with me to the appointment.) Maybe I'll write more about the ritual boob smashing next week. Stay tuned.