So it’s on to the World Series for the Chicago White Sox. Hooray! David woke me up last night at 11:45 pm to let me know that the ChiSox had beaten the Angels 6-3 for the American League pennant. Last time they went to the Series, my mother was a squalling newborn. And the last time they won was in 1917. Let’s hope they can make good this time.

In other news, I saw the film Elizabethtown last night. Those of you who feel like you spend your lives on planes to and from Louisville might enjoy the movie purely for the recognizable sites—the Louisville skyline, Slugger Field… no sentimental shots of PresbyLand, however. If you have seen the movie, I actually watched them film the scene where Orlando Bloom runs out of the hotel after Kirstin Dunst. In fact, I stood about 30 feet away from Orlando and saw him eat his lunch that day. Hah! Those of you who do travel with the church, however, know that a direct flight from Portland to Louisville, or from anywhere to Louisville, is pretty much a complete fiction.

This week promises to be a doozy. With the World Tour to finalize, a Leadership Event Planning Team and a Fundraising Committee to get on the boat, and two articles to write for Church and Society and Presbyterians Today, I have a lot to do before I can venture off to Thailand next week. Combine that with the breast cancer walk this weekend…

Lest you’ve forgotten, I am still planning on participating in Louisville’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk this Sunday. The campaign here at the Center has gone very well—we stole a cardboard cutout woman from Presbyterian Women and named her “Hope,” since the theme of the walk is “Hope Starts Here.” We then dressed her up and are currently parading her around the building, along with a signup sheet, to encourage folks in PresbyLand to donate or join us in walking. So far we have about 20 walkers. Click here if you want to see Hope or donate to our group (but ignore the statistics about how we don’t have any walkers or money. That’s not true!).

Since more than 11,500 young women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in the next year, what preventative steps can we, as young women, take to protect ourselves? Since there are no known causes for breast cancer, early detection is your best chance to minimize the impact of it and increase your chances for survival. The Young Survival Coalition (YSC) recommends that you start doing monthly breast self-exams by age 20, 7-10 days after your period starts, and that you have a doctor perform an exam every year. You can visit YSC’s website to find out more about how to do self-exams, or you can also stop by your college’s health center. I know that Whitworth had cards hanging up on the shower nozzles in our dorms.

What should you be looking for during a self-exam? A lump or change in the shape of your breast, swelling, unusual discharge, nipple retraction, redness on the nipple or breast, basically anything that really looks abnormal should be checked out. And if your doctor tells you that you’re too young to have breast cancer, insist on a mammogram, MRI, or a second opinion. While four-fifths of all breast lumps are not cancerous, it is better to be safe than sorry.

If you’re currently a young woman living with breast cancer, I would recommend checking out YSC’s website. It has many resources for support and advocacy, since the needs of young women often remain unaddressed when it comes to breast cancer research and support. The PC(USA) also has links here for more info about breast cancer.

And if you are living with breast cancer, this weekend’s walk downtown is for you.

“O give thanks to the Lord, for God is good; for God’s steadfast love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, those he redeemed from trouble.” --Psalm 107:1-2

Kelsey

I'd like to echo what Kelsey said about breast self-exams. Just last month, my best college friend (she's 28) found some lumps and the doctor ordered a mammogram and ultrasound. She just had it last week. Thank goodness it's just fibroids, but still, it gave all of us a scare.

Rebecca Morrison
NNPCW, 1995-98

» International Trial Of Novel Breast Cancer Drug
14/12/06 07:03 from Breast cancer blog from medicineworld.org
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A clinical trial of a new targeted breast cancer drug, led by
physicians at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer
Center, has begun enrolling patients. The TEACH (Tykerb
Evaluation After CHemotherapy) trial will investigate ...


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