I Am More

Wednesday, November 2, 2011 2:17 PM, EDT

I Am More

 

Surgery is tomorrow. Pray for no complications, a swift recovery and healing. Pray for peace, calm and positive thoughts. Pray for clear lymph nodes and clear margins. Pray for a cancer-free Bean.

I am not a pink ribbon

I am strength. I am humor. I am Mommy. I am “hunny.” I am sister. I am daughter. I am “angel from heaven.” I am warrior. I am defender. I am scared. I am soft. I am calm. I am wiry. I am rowdy. I am thunderous. I am bright. I am gleaming. I am beauty. I am faith. I am supported. I am falling. I am getting back up. I am fighting. I am older than I feel. I am full. I am kind. I am optimistic. I am fearful. I am hope. I am awareness. I am not a pink ribbon. I am more.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, for those of you who have been under a rock for the last 31 days! On Halloween, we hosted our first PINK-A-BOO at work to promote diagnostic women's services (mammograms, etc.), obviously wrapping up Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I wore a giant pink ribbon for the promotion, but I kept saying throughout the day that "I am not a pink ribbon. I am awareness, I am hope. I am anything but a pink ribbon." Hence the mask.

I want to make it very clear that I have nothing against the color pink. And although Mama had us wrapped up like little gifts with perfect bows in our hair for every occassion when we were little, I also have nothing against ribbons. In fact, I look at pink in a whole new light now. Pink has raised awareness about breast cancer, which raises dollars and "sense" to combat the disease, which means that treatments are pretty standard. So if your mother or sister or bosom buddy is diagnosed, there is most likely a treatment regimen that "fits" her type of breast cancer. That's more than pink - that's awareness.

Pink is the signature color of Shelby from Steel Magnolias, the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, the American's Cancer Society's Making Strides Walk, and many Survivors alike. Team Bean walked in Louisville's Making Strides Walk, and I was seriously overwhelmed by the power of pink! It is disheartening to see so many people affected by breast cancer in one way or another.

So for these reasons, I am appreciative of PINK. But pink has made me a bit of an impulsive shopper. I buy "pink" because it supports breast cancer. Even my shoes are "pink." It wasn't until this week that I stumbled upon a website that explains that some "pink" items actually cause breast cancer (BPA, chemicals and toxins, etc.), and that you should be careful not to support products that cause cancer, then give a small amount of proceeds to fund unidentified breast cancer research. Check out www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org for a full explanation. I cannot possibly do it justice.

I've never considered myself a "pink" girl. I am a girly girl, hands down, but not really pink. I'm more of a black and blue girl. But even a bruise turns to pink eventually...

Bean