Awareness

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month so I thought it was appropriate we had the letters of Frances Burney to read this week. We learn from her letters that in 1811, while living in Paris, Burney was diagnosed with breast cancer and submitted to a mastectomy without anaesthetic. Just thinking about this makes me feel queasy but I had to post on this topic and remind everyone how important early detection is.

In Burney's letters she is pleading with her sister to be aware of the dangers and to go to the doctor if she thinks anything is wrong. The strength displayed by Burney during this ordeal is to be commended. She wanted to keep her illness a secret from her parents as she did not wish to worry them. Also, she kept the actual date of the operation from her husband as she did not want him to worry too much. I found it hard to believe she had the foresight to ask the doctors not to tell her when the operation was to take place until the actual day of the procedure as this would shorten the time she had to think about it.

I admire Burney for the way she handled this horrific experience but I feel it is important to have people you are close to around you during a time like this. Support and understanding goes along way when you are dealing with such a frightening illness. Thank goodness for organizations like the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and the Canadian Cancer Society for all the hard work and support they provide cancer victims and their families.

Check out the facts about breast cancer and I'm sure you will be as surprised as I was at the statistics. Tomorrow is the annual CIBC Run For The Cure and it is very heart warming to see there are many survivors participating in this event. By making women more aware, and by supporting this worthwhile cause, the number of survivors will continue to increase.