Monday is the first day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, when we honor all the brave people who have had to deal with this terrible disease. Many have beaten it, thanks to advances in treatment and early detection, but too many have not.
I doubt there is anyone whose life has not been touched by breast cancer. You, your mother, your wife, your partner, your sister, a relative, friend or co-worker -- everyone knows someone who's had it.Almost one in eight U.S. women (just under 12 percent) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime, according to breastcancer.org. In 2011, there were more than 230,000 new cases diagnosed and nearly 40,000 women died from the disease. Only lung cancer kills more women. There are now more than 2.6 million breast cancer survivors.The group estimated that a woman's risk of breast cancer doubles if she has a first-degree relative (mother, sister, daughter) who has been diagnosed with breast cancer.Although women are the most at risk for the disease, about one in 1,100 men are stricken with it.I had a cancer scare myself once. I jumped face-down onto the bed one night, felt a small pain in my left breast when I landed and then found what seemed to be a small lump. It didn't go away, so I went in for a mammogram (so now I know personally how much fun that is!). The results were negative.My grandmother had breast cancer, my mother had breast cancer, I know co-workers and friends who have had it, and my sister-in-law had to deal with it just last year.We were on vacation in the Bahamas on Dec. 7, 2010, when my wife, Nancy, got the call from her sister, Joelyn, who had gone in for her annual mammogram.Like most women, she expected everything would be fine. Getting that annual checkup was reassuring to her, in some ways making her feel almost like she was preventing cancer.But not this time.This time, the mammogram did what it was supposed to do: signal that there was something wrong. Like the early warning missile defense system, a mammogram is intended to sound the red alert for DEFCON 5 if there is anything suspicious. Then, they take a biopsy.With an I-can't-believe-I'm-saying-this tone, Joelyn said those terrifying words: It's cancer.My wife is the sister who's been apprehensive about doctors since she was a little girl. She's also the sister who had to go through more health concerns, from life-long dental problems to a difficult time with menopause and urinary tract/ovary symptoms that brought surgical explorations that turned out to be false alarms.Her sister is a health professional and has always treated problems in a very matter-of-fact manner. No big deal. My wife is very emotional; her sister doesn't show it so much.And that's the way she handled this. She had 16 rounds of chemotherapy and countless radiation treatments and never complained. For eight hours every third Friday, she would go in to let them drip chemicals into her body to get rid of the cancer.She had the most beautiful red hair, but it started to come out in bunches, and she decided to shave it off. She sent us a picture, and it's now our favorite picture of her. Despite her life being threatened, she was still smiling and positive. She treated cancer like an inconvenience.My wife sent her a hat with "fight like a girl" on it -- and she did. In December, she was declared "cancer free." At the end of October, she'll be in her first cancer walk, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., wearing a pink bra my wife embellished for her to wear on the outside of her T-shirt.At the Star-Telegram, we're planning a special section Sunday, Oct. 14, in which our readers will tell stories about cancer heroes they have known. My sister-in-law is a hero.Jim Witt is executive editor of the Star-Telegram. 817-390-7704@jimelvis on TwitterHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
