Tune In Tokyo

Have you seen Facebook status updates similar to these over the last week?

“Nude”
“Green baby!”
“Black lace”
“Pink (duh)”
“Tan”
“Leopard”
“Smokin' hot black push up with a cute tiny bow in the middle sistas!”

If you’re a guy, you probably scratched your head for a second and pondered the meaning of these bizarre posts. If you’re a girl, you probably received an e-mail similar to the one I received yesterday:

“Some fun is going on... just write the color of the bra you are wearing in your status. Just the color, nothing else. And send this on to ONLY girls no men... It will be neat to see if this will spread the wings of breast cancer awareness. It will be fun to see how long it takes before the men will wonder why all the girls have a color in their status... Haha! Don't tell until we have this going everywhere… and forward to all your girls.”

People, this is serious business. We’re talking about boobs here. The least we can do is share the color of our over-the-shoulder-boulder-holder, right? Obviously, I sprinted to the status update bar on my Facebook page and typed in, “No color – commando.” I mean, it was for a good cause… and truth be told, I might just be a little bit of an exhibitionist.

Either way, do not let my eagerness to share TMI on a public social networking site fool you. My womanly intuition told me that there was probably a slightly perverted guy behind this hoax. Gentlemen, take notice. This guy is a genius. A pervert, but still a genius.

Deep down inside, I like to think that I’m a smart girl. I know that posting the details of my brassiere (or the lack of one) will do absolutely nothing to raise breast cancer awareness.

This got me thinking. What can I do to raise breast cancer awareness? Well, as I’m the author of this blog and I haven’t posted in some time (my apologies), I can share some information on breast cancer. I see it as a win-win situation. I get to feel good about sharing information about my bra on Facebook and for sharing breast cancer facts on my blog.

Did you know?
• Breast cancer incidence in women in the United States is 1 in 8 (about 13%).
• About 40,170 women in the U.S. were expected to die in 2009 from breast cancer, although death rates have been decreasing since 1990. These decreases are thought to be the result of treatment advances, earlier detection through screening, and increased awareness.
• As of 2008, there are about 2.5 million women in the U.S. who have survived breast cancer. Yay! I will survive/ As long as I know how to love/ I know I’ll stay alive. Sorry, I was born in the 70s… I know, I know, it’s still not a valid excuse. Gloria Gaynor is never acceptable.

So, what can we do to keep the breasts in our lives healthy and plentiful? The solution is simple. Ladies, don’t neglect to perform your monthly self-check. If you encounter any of the symptoms below, RUN DON’T WALK to your doctor’s office. And fellas, make sure the special ladies in your life get checked. If you’re creative, you can even make a game out of it…

Keep an eye out (or a hand) for:
• swelling of all or part of the breast
• skin irritation or dimpling
• breast pain
• nipple pain or the nipple turning inward
• redness, scaliness, or thickening of the nipple or breast skin
• a nipple discharge other than breast milk
• a lump in the underarm area

Remember, breasts are best! BUT only if they are healthy. Love your boobies.

Meow, Kat

P.S. All statistics were lifted from breastcancer.org.

P.P.S. Still want to do more? You can send a donation to: Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Attn: Donor Services, PO Box 650309, Dallas, TX 75265-03