My Compendium of Concepts: Fight Like a Girl

Well ladies and gents, it is a little late in the week but time for me to reveal this week’s theme. While I am super excited about all my October and autumn themes, I am excited about this week’s theme for a different reason. This week’s theme holds a special place in my heart. I mentioned it in a previous post, though you may not have known it. This week’s theme is breast cancer awareness. I am so excited about this theme because there are multiple ladies that participate and thus show their support for the cause. There have been so many great pictures so far. This theme is near and dear to my heart because of my family history. I spent the beginning of my life (after the age of 3) living with my grandmother. She was an amazing woman who instilled in me most of my good qualities, and some of my bad. I get my stubbornness from her as well as my strong will. There is more of course, but that is hardly the point. She was a great woman who had seen and done many things. She was often selfless and was always helping those in need. She was also a fighter. In 2008, she succumbed to her third round of breast cancer. The first two times, she fought hard and often suffered in silence through the treatments. The third time, she just couldn’t fight it anymore and unfortunately in May of that year we lost her. Her loss is something that is never forgotten and for a lot of us, not even something we have gotten over. It is a loss that is still acutely felt by most, if not all of us. As if that weren’t bad enough, her daughter also battled the disease multiple times. I am extremely happy to report that my aunt inherited that fighting spirit and has been cancer free for six years. This is exceptionally good news for my personally because if there is one person who I have always been able to turn to for anything in my life, it was her. While losing my grandmother, a woman who pretty much raised me, was hard; losing my aunt would be just as hard if not harder. And so I applaud all of the support that this cause has been given in this month alone. People have commented on the NFL players wearing pink accessories. I have heard that it is silly, ugly, ridiculous and more. Personally, I think it is amazing. The NFL reaches millions of people every week. Those people are therefore made aware of breast cancer. And even if one person each week looks into it and tries to help, that is one more than there was. While this is a disease that has struck my family hard, it is not just us who suffer. Breast cancer kills more women each year than any other form of cancer. In fact, one in eight women in the U.S will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. But there is hope out there. In 2011, there were more than 2.6 million breast cancer survivors in this country. It is due to extensive fundraising and a constant battle to find a cure that those women are still alive. There are foundations, and centers, and walks every year. This month alone there are at least 3 walks for breast cancer in New York City. I’m sure there are so many more, but there are 3 I know of for a fact. And last time I checked the website, one of them had over 100,000 people raising money and walking. If you would like to find out more, there are a few websites that you can check out. I will include walk sites, and a site for statistics at the bottom of this page. Please, find a walk in your area and donate. Even if you can only donate your time, every effort helps. So enjoy some of the pictures and please, check out the websites. Lend a hand, and save the ta tas.