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Something I read
recently about a man who wore a pink ribbon to bring
awareness about breast cancer brought a memory to me.
He was wearing the ribbon because his mother and wife
had used their breasts to nourish their children but
his daughter had died from breast cancer at an early
age because she thought she was too young to have
breast cancer and had ignored a lump she had found.
The man in the story was wearing his pink ribbon with
pride and I suspect a bit of sadness because of his
daughter. How sad it is that people are not educated
about breast cancer and die from the lack of
knowledge.
When I was
working at a local store giving out breast cancer
information, a young man who worked in the maintenance
department of the store, came up to the table and
laughingly told me that a man can??™t wear pink because
people would laugh at him. I quickly told him that
???real men??™ can and do wear pink. This young man
looked shocked and asked a lot of questions. When I
finished with all the answers he wanted, he asked for
a pink ribbon to wear on his shirt. I quickly gave
him his ribbon and he left with a big smile on his
face. To be quite honest, I thought he would probably
take it off as soon as he was out of sight but he did
not.
Within the next hour,
he came back with some of his friends and told me they
needed pink ribbons too. I gave each of them a ribbon
and some informational pamphlets and they left. As
the day progressed more men came up and took the
ribbons and later as I walked through the store, I saw
some of them as they were working and each had the
ribbon prominently displayed on his shirt. I gave
each of them a big smile and said, ???keep up the good
work??? and left.
After that day, I have
said ???real men can and do wear pink??™ many times and
each time I have thought of those men. Each of us can
do a small part in bringing awareness about breast
cancer if we just take a minute to be aware ourselves
and pass the word on to our friends. I will never
know if these men passed the word on to someone who
needed to know but I feel that in my own small way, I
have passed some of my knowledge on to others in a way
that is beneficial. I hope that each of those men
told the ladies in their lives about the importance of
knowing. It is also my hope that my few words to
those men may have given the needed information to
save someone??™s life.
We never know how our
words can be used to help others so we each need to
use our words wisely when we speak. I hope that all
of my friends will go out today and tell someone about
the importance of doing their monthly breast self exam
and also about how knowledge of a problem like breast
cancer can help to save lives.
?© Doris B. Fandal
February 25, 2005
I am a wife, mother and
grandmother and an almost 6 year survivor of breast
cancer. I live in the bayou state of Louisiana and am
very much involved in volunteering for the local Susan
G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and also as a
chemoangel.
Doris B. Fandal
Remember to do your BSE at least once a month.
Support Breast Cancer Research . For breast cancer
information go to :
www.komen.org or our affiliate website:
www.rftc.us or our affiliate address:
monroerace71211@yahoo.com Bring cheer to someone
with cancer, go to
www.chemoangels.com and check it out.
"To eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening
disease by advancing research, education, screening
and treatment" |
