Carrying out her legacy through awareness
I think we all were surprised and affected in some type of way by the recent passing of Chadwick Boseman. I know for me it especially hit home as he died from colon cancer; which is the same thing my mom passed away from in 2012. Many of us reading this blog have lost our parents unfortunately, due to health conditions. These conditions vary from cancer diagnosis, blood disorders, mental health conditions, etc.. Thus, his recent passing made me think about one way that we can honor our moms legacy and help others by raising awareness regarding the condition they were diagnosed with.
Prior to my mother being diagnosed and passing from colon cancer I knew about the disease but was not as aware as I feel like I should have been. Unfortunately, this oftentimes is the case for many diseases. The majority of us know that next month is breast cancer awareness month. This is a more well-known form of cancer and many know the importance of mammograms. Yet, we have numerous diagnoses every day and awareness and prevention efforts can still be increased.
Following my mom’s passing I made a decision, for the rest of my life, to raise awareness about colorectal cancer. Regarding my own health, I heavily advocated for myself with my providers to making sure I get proper screening. At her funeral service I had blue ribbons and scrolls with information about colon cancer passed out. One year I posted a fact a day about colon cancer during the month of March on my Facebook page and for several years now I have had a team in memory of my mom during the Duke Crush Colorectal Cancer 5K.
Some of the members of my first 5K team at the finish line, Team Juanita 2014!
Although colorectal cancer awareness month is March, I strive to raise awareness and stay educated about this year around. I often talk with people and encourage them to make sure they have their colonoscopies done and to monitor for any changes in their stool habits. Aside from that, I also strongly encourage people to know their family history. After my mom’s passing we found out her biological father had colon cancer as well but she didn’t know. I believe that everything happens per God’s plan but I can’t help but imagine at times how my moms outcome may have been differently if she had known this fact. Her colonoscopy screening intervals may have been shortened thus allowing them to find the cancer earlier. I truly believe that one month is not enough and in my mom’s honor and Legacy, it is one of my duties to help raise awareness about this disease. I know that if she were still here she would be an advocate raising awareness too. So today, if you are reading this and your mom passed away from a health condition I encourage you to become a big advocate for raising awareness about that condition. You never know whose life you may be saving or changing through your efforts.
If you are reading this and have the privilege of still having your mom here with you, I am sure you know a close relative who has had or currently has a medical condition. No matter what it is, I encourage you to increase your awareness about the various conditions that are out here and then share that information with others. Cancer awareness is a big one but there are so many others that we oftentimes do not pay attention to until someone close to us has it or a celebrity is diagnosed. I always say awareness is the first step and the key. That's not to say that if you are aware you still won't be diagnosed with a condition but it does mean that by being aware you increase your chance and others of the possibility of detecting something early which can ultimately make all the difference.
In closing and in conjunction with this post about awareness, I would like to honor a very special angel mom this month and raise awareness about a condition that affects so many, one in which she was a fighter and strong advocate for. September is Sickle Cell Awareness month and thus in honor and memory of Mrs. Gail Aiken, a phenomenal mom, wife, woman of God and passionate advocate for sickle awareness, I have placed a few facts about sickle cell below. I invite you to check out the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America’s page to increase your awareness about this disease and then share it with someone else.
I hope this blog has encouraged you to join me in honoring your mom’s legacy (if she passed from a medical condition or maybe even violence or abuse) or another loved one or friend’s legacy by helping to increase awareness with the world. If you are currently raising awareness about a condition please feel free to share it with me as I would love to support in any way I can whether it’s joining your 5k team, making a donation to a foundation or just posting information on my social media outlets.
My mom and her sister/friend, Gail. Both were angels on Earth who are now angels in heaven.
4 Sickle Cell Disease Facts:
Sickle Cell Disease is an inherited condition in which a person inherits two abnormal hemoglobin genes.
If both parents carry the sickle cell trait then they have a 1 in 4 chance of having a child with Sickle Cell Disease.
As compared to other ethnicities, this disease affects the African American community the most in the US.
One of the common complications of Sickle Cell Disease are pain crises which occur when blood cells stick together and get stuck within blood vessels limiting the flow of blood and oxygen throughout the body.
*Sickle Cell Disease information was obtained from the NIH and the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America.*
