It’s not everyday I write a serious post, let alone one that holds some personal meaning and value to it. But today is one of those days that I will share a little of my own insight with you on something that has not only devastated my family, but families globally.

Breast Cancer doesn’t always mean a death sentence for all women, but it is still a terrifying experience that I wouldn’t even wish upon my greatest enemies. Statistically, 1 out of 8 women will develop Breast Cancer in their lifetime. This means that from the time you are born, you already stand at having a 12.3% chance of getting Breast Cancer, and if you are to develop it, less than 3% of those will pass away due to it. There are tons of misconceptions about Breast Cancer as a whole, whether it is hereditary or environmentally caused, if the size of breasts put you at a greater risk for it, or that even some people still think it’s a woman’s only disease. I am going to share some of my knowledge I have gained through experience and research, and hope that you will be able to walk away feeling a bit more educated on the topic.

First off, every 3 minutes there is a new diagnosis for Breast Cancer and every 13 minutes a woman dies from it within the United States. That means annually roughly 20% of those diagnosed (around 40,000 people) will pass away from this disease. While women are 100% more likely to develop breast cancer than men, men are still capable of developing this disease as well. While there are treatments to be taken after being diagnosed, you can lower your risk of Breast Cancer by a healthy diet and exercise, as well as even lowering alcohol consumption. The best way to lower your chances as well is to self-exam your breasts and arm-pit areas monthly for any lumps, swelling or abnormalities. The best way to fight any type of cancer is to catch it early.

Now, you may be wondering what this picture has to do with anything. Well, a little background history into my family might help answer some questions. I was around 5 years old when my mom remarried. She remarried a wonderful man who I am proud to call my father, seeing as my biological one has been very transparent through my life. My dad was able to bring 2 powerful women into my life, which I am every grateful for their strength and virtue that they have been able to teach to me. The first is his mother, my Grandma Betty. She had developed Breast Cancer when I was a bit younger, so the experience was very vague and quite confusing as I did not understand the severity of it. She eventually had to have her entire breast removed to avoid the cancer from spreading any further in her body. The second woman my dad brought into my life is the lady in the picture with me. She was my Great Grandma Opal. She was born in the early 1900′s, and I envy the fact that she got to live and witness every major technological advance in society of our time! Not long after turning 100 was she diagnosed with Breast Cancer, and due to her age all physicians spoke highly against treatment of any sort due to the fact she would not be able to recover. It was a long, slow and painful year for her as she became sicker from the cancer spreading. Her paper thin skin couldn’t hold the weight of the tumor and it eventually started to rip her skin in her breast. About 2 weeks shy of her 102nd birthday she ended up passing away. If it wasn’t for Breast Cancer, hell, my Great Grandma Opal might have had a pretty great shot at outliving me! It was a bit easier to lose someone to the disease given my Great Grandma’s age, but that doesn’t make the progressiveness and severity of it any lesser. There hasn’t been a day that has gone by since her death that I don’t think of her, and miss her so.

My mother has always been my rock. She is a strong woman, and if she can put up with my dad and I combined, well that’s a lot more than I could even handle. Since my Great Grandma’s death, we haven’t really spoke much about the cause of it. We tried to cope with the situation by focusing on what Opal had left behind. Wonderful memories, a beautiful family who has accepted us as their own, and someone who had the ability to touch countless people, even President Barack Obama. After her 100th birthday, the President had sent Opal a letter congratulating her on such an amazing achievement. Not everyone gets to see 100, and it’s definitely something to truly be cherished. So you can see why it really brightened my spirits after a year since her death when my mom approached me saying she wanted to do the annual Avon Breast Cancer Walk.

The Avon Breast Cancer Walk is a 2 day, 39 mile walk that takes place all over the country. My mother will be specifically participating in the Santa Barbara walk, and have the wonderful California coastline as her scenic companion for the 2 day event. My mom has put together a wonderful team of some of her close friends to help support this cause by also tying in with some great pop culture references with their team ’50 shades of pink.’

My mom has always tried her best to get into shape by taking walks on her lunch break at work, and even taking them after work when she gets home. Sometimes I would join her and try to motivate her to pick up the pace a bit. But never have I seen my mom work with so much dedication and enthusiasm into her personal health as I have for this walk. Last Saturday my mom completed her first mock walk, doing 8 miles straight before doing another 2 miles at the mall picking up some new shoes for the big day. Physically she is more fit than she has ever been in the past decade, and mentally, she has more than enough strength to handle this walk and match her physical strength.

Currently my mom is roughly $1,000 away from her $1,800 registration. That’s why I am reaching out to you. I don’t ask for things, except for you to be entertained by the occasional post or two here. But as you can see this is something that has troubled my family, and is continuing to break and destroy families all around the world. Why should we just stop at a treatment, when we can find a cure? If you can find it to donate a couple bucks, or even twenty.. it all goes a long way. If you email me a screenshot of your donation, I will be updating this post with a list of people to thank, and will be sending out a thank you letter to you, along with photo’s from the event that my mom will take and a photo of the team upon their completion of the event.

Click HERE to donate to SHARON COVINGTON

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