It’s that most beautiful month of the year – October.  The colors of Fall, and pink.  Pink ribbons, pink t-shirts, banners.  Please do not let the beautiful colors of fall drown out the message in those pink ribbons.  It was two years ago this month that I was watching my beloved Steelers run around Heinz Field with their pink “breast cancer” tennis shoes on when I emailed myself a quick note to schedule my annual mammogram.  Just a routine doctor’s appointment, just one more thing to tick off the to-do list.

Unfortunately, that “to-do” list got a lot longer after that routine mammogram.  I got that call no one wants to get, telling me I had breast cancer.  Thankfully, doctors caught it early, and after surgery and daily radiation treatments, I was in remission.  And while the fear still lurks in the back of my mind that the cancer might come back, my latest mammogram was cancer-free.

So please, if you are a woman over the age of 40, get your mammogram.  Yes, it’s a little uncomfortable, a little inconvenient, but it could save your life.