I usually refrain from getting involved with politics but the recent ruling on mammograms by our government has me hanging from the rafters. It has taken us the last 20 years to get women to be proactive in taking care of themselves and now they want to undo all of this work by mandating new guidelines that delay mammograms until the age of 50.

Really?

Think about it.

How many women do you know who have been diagnosed with breast cancer under the age of 50? Most of them in y life have been in their 30's and 40's.

My sister-in-law died at the age of 48 after battling cancer for 10 years. Her children were 5 and 8 when she was first diagnosed. She would have died much earlier in their lives had she not discovered it through a mammography. It has been a difficult loss for her children at the age of 15 and 18 but they at least have memories of their years together that will stay with them forever.

If women listen to these foolish guidelines, we will have an epidemic of motherless children in our nation. The last thing our culture needs are children who do not have a mother's touch. If women listen to this nonsense, we will see tragedies words cannot describe. We will witness a generation of children who will never know who they are because they did not have a mother's arms to crawl into in their moment of need. We will become a society that is hard, cold, and without conscience because they did not hear the gentle whisper of a mother's love impacting their definition of self.

Death is a form of abandonment and most children will spend a lifetime attempting to overcome the loss. As a mom, make good choices about your health and do not be passive when it comes to taking care of yourself. Set a good example for your children so when they are older, their normal is to have a healthy life.

Get your mammograms because your children deserve to be raised by a mom who takes of herself.

Always,

Catherine

Edited: 11/22/2009 at 06:50 PM by catherine.hickem