Like many of you, I have looked forward to Smoke Signals to see what is happening and who is posting but never added my own. Now is the time to speak up about something I know is important. In early 2006, I had the mammogram we all dread. The biopsy was benign but later in the year it was removed and cancer was there. Surgeries, followed by chemotherapy, and radiation. Two weeks of radiation left and I am feeling great and my future looks even better. I am truly a "poster child" for early detection which is the point of my comments.
Facts to know...
Median age of breast cancer diagnois is 61... know anyone who is 61???
Survival rate for localized breast cancer is 98%
Only 5-10% of breast cancers are due to heredity
Past two years a 2% drop in deaths from breast cancer due to early detection
So, get your mammogram on time every year. Remind your wife, sister, daughter, and friends. The doctors tell me early detection saved my life.
Also, if you are a sister to someone who has breast cancer or know someone who is, suggest they look at The Sister Study . This is a long term study being run by NIEHS and NIH to look at how environmental factors and genes affect risk in 50,000 women. It may be a very important study for our children and grandchildren.

Mary Hayes Sharpe
mphsharpe@aol.com