BUSY MAY & MOTHER'S DAY

May is a busy month for women. Health and celebration is in the air! Mother’s Day, May 9th, marks the start of National Women’s Health week, coordinated by the US Department Health and Human Resources Office on Women’s Health. It is also Colon Cancer Awareness month, which heralds in the month of June’s Cancer Awareness Month.
Colon cancer is especially concerning to me. My mother died of it four weeks before Mother’s Day, twelve years ago. My first Mother’s Day without her was a rude awakening. It would have been so easy for her to have had preventative colon cancer screenings. Today’s health education and the Internet brings so much helpful information to our fingertips. Colon cancer is one of the easiest cancers to detect and treat early by having a colonoscopy by the age of 45 and then once every five to seven years. It is also one of the deadliest cancers because it often displays no outward symptoms. My mother didn’t have a clue, until it was too late. Now, rather than celebrating Mother’s Day with her, I must endure it without her.
As natural caregivers, women are programmed to put their family, and often everything else, first and their own needs second. But who will put your family first if you are “gone” from lack of personal attention?
Take your health seriously, celebrate many more Mother’s Days with your family who needs, and love you. Early and preventative screening is an excellent way to empower your sense of well-being and thereby ensure greater health. Living a healthier longer life can benefit everyone, including your loved ones. Do it for them.
To find an event for National Women’s Health Week near you, visit: http://www.womenshealth.gov/whw/events/.