A few days ago a dear friend of mine lost her husband to leukemia. I called Jennifer when I got the news and we wished there was something we could do to help. Jennifer had mentioned a cancer special she was watching the other day... One alarming statistic is that 1 in 4 people will be diagnosed with cancer. It made us think, out of our group of friends at least one of us would be affected by cancer in our lifetime (which really means all of us will be affected)....
What could we do to be proactive? So we came up with a Plan!! Why not be our friends health advocate? Yes its brilliant!! Most of us are young mothers/professionals... so very little time is spent on ourselves. Most all of it is focused on family and career. We need help ladies!! So this is what you can do....
Pick one or more friends that you would like to be an advocate for... Each month lets find a way to remind our friends to think of themselves... think of their health. I personally love sending a note in the mail because I feel like the personal touch shows how much you care. But, if that is too time consuming don't be afraid to text, email, facebook message.. Whatever fits your personal style. So you may ask... What will be in the note? First I think we should remind our friend to do a monthly breast exam... Then just whatever is on your heart. If you saw a great piece of health information pass it on.... if you found a great heathy recipe pass it on.... words of encouragement pass it on.... remind them to take time for themselves... meditate.... To really ask themselves, "are you feeling like yourself?" Is there any new symptoms that my body is trying to tell me? Just being aware your body is key. If we can be proactive with ourselves then it will flow over into our family. Just asking your spouse or partner how they are feeling can be the gateway to a healthy family.
So my friends... I ask you to be a friend. Pick some people in your life that you would like to be a health advocate for.. .. Lets be proactive and fight cancer together. It is much more powerful to have an army standing behind you.... Lets not do it alone. And to my sweet friend Janet.... I love you and this idea is in honor of your beloved Richard.
Tiffany
