Sunday, July 15, 2007

Just do it.... On the 15th

I don't know if you remember almost a month ago that I mentioned that I am planning on making the 15th of each month "Frisk" day. All jokes aside, we all know that early detection of breast cancer is your best bet to surviving this disease.

In my post I explained that I regularly [forget to] do my breast exams each month, and I wondered to myself how many other busy women forget themselves? I made a pact with the MIL that we would remind each other to do our exam on the 15.

I then realized that since many a wondrous thing are discussed on the net, why not see if other women are interested in posting a little graphic on their blog to remind themselves and other women they know. I don't want to limit this to women only, guys if you are interested I can make some in green or blue too. Let me know. Also, as I said in the original post, breast cancer doesn't just affect women. Each year 450 men die from breast cancer, so it's important for men to do exams too, especially if they have family history.

As far as the title, I didn't want this to be such a serious topic and I couldn't figure out a name for the graphic that wouldn't sound stern and clinical. Or that it could be the title of a manifesto. *LOL* Soooo, I came up with Frisk the 15th.

I think as adults we are pulled in so many directions sometimes that we forget that we need to take time for ourselves too. Maybe each month on the 15th we could pencil in a little "me" time. Couldn't we all use a little of that? I'm thinking "make it a routine": have a bubble bath, do your nails and do your exam. :)

Each month on the 15th I'll post my regular post, and/or one of these graphics as a reminder for those of us who need it. That's it. :D




If you would like to post one on your blog to remind the women bloggers you care about to "frisk" themselves monthly, please feel free to get yourself a graphic here. There are 3 styles and 4 sizes of each style (marked LRG, MED, SMALL, XSMALL). In order to make sure you are getting the right size and not just the preview on the front page, click on a preview to view then "right click/ save as".

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great campaign. I definitely need the reminder!

Pamela said...

good for you girl.
speaking of pencils..... oh you know the joke never mind.

Lianne Lopes said...

A friend directed me to your site and I'm glad she did. I am another who often forgets to do the exam. I just went through the horror and shock of breast cancer...not for myself, but for my mother who was diagnosed in February. (She's ok, it was caught early, Praise God.) So this came at a good time for me.

Headmistress, zookeeper said...

What a clever idea! My grandmother died of breast cancer- she noticed it early, but it was back in the seventies and she had one of those dreadful doctors who told her to forget it about, it was his job to do all the worrying. And so it spread, because he didn't worry about it either.=(

Mary said...

Thanks Kailani! :D

Pam, whats the joke? Something about being able to hold a pencil under your boobs,right? I don't think Office Depot has enough pencils ;)

Lianne, I'm so glad to hear that your mom is doing OK. I know most women don't take the fact that we need to do the exam lightly, but like I said we often neglect the things that are important because we are so busy. I'm glad your friend directed you here.

Headmistress,that's just awful! I think that there are actually still a few idiot doctors out there like that, who tell patients basically that only their opinion matters. I'm glad you like my idea .

Not So Anonymous Michelle said...

Thanks for making the fun graphics, I'll be getting my frisk the 15th for my site!

Marci said...

Hey sis... I forget more than I remember to do a self exam. I really like the idea of picking a day and sticking to it. Thanks for the reminder :-)

Unknown said...

I routinely ask The Wife if she's checked herself, given that she has a bit o' family history. So 'tis a good campaign.

Kelly Curtis said...

I love this. And you're a hoot. Frisk Day. Very funny.

Unknown said...

Great idea! It runs in my wifes family as well. Already added to my blog.

Anonymous said...

OH headmistress that sounds horrible. what a crappy doctor.

I won't forget to frisk. Thanks for the reminder.

Unknown said...

Whew! I finally figured out how to make the graphic link back to your site! Took me long enough! It kept linking back to Photobucket. I'm a slow learner when it comes to all this graphic and HTML hoo-ha! :) Thank you for the lovely graphic and much needed reminder!

Jenster said...

I will absolutely be adding this to my blog. I have no actual breast tissue anymore so I don't have to "frisk" myself. LOL But this is very important to me and I thank you for doing this.

Anonymous said...

That's a great idea! I never remember either.

Gretchen said...

Hi, Jenster just pointed me to your frisky 15th, and I would love to steal. I'll be posting it--and getting a baseline mammo scheduled--asap!

Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I'm another one that always forgets... this will be a great reminder, especially with such a fun name! :)

Anonymous said...

Great frickin' idea...I'm going to join you on the 15th....this is wonderful. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

oooooo. Friskeeee. Slightly irreverent. I love it! I don't think I'll forget thanks to that cute slogan. Definitely going on my blog! :)

Cassandra said...

Hi--

I am brand new to your blog--just followed a link and here I am!--but I wish to commend you on your Frisk mission. I am a breast cancer survivor and my self-exam saved my life. I was at low risk of BC--or so I thought--and at age 42 had my annual mammogram in October of 2006. It was all clear so I thought I was fine. Still I did my monthly self checks and in April of 2007--less than 6 months later--I found a lump. Of course it turned out that I had an aggressive and fast-growing BC tumor, which turned out ot be Stage II. Had I not been doing my monthly exams, and had I waited until my annual mammogram 6 months or so later, it probably would have been Stage IV. So please everyone--frisk yourselves on the 15th of every month!!

Cassandra