Rethink Breast Cancer

I just caught a really good commercial on Bravo for the Rethink Breast Cancer campaign. It played on the idea that if us men had breasts we would spend a good portion of the day “getting to know” them. The message, of course, is that women should not be afraid to do informal self-exams on a daily basis. Here is an excerpt from their site:

Rethink encourages all women to get familiar with their breasts. [bolding preserved] There is no need to follow a fancy routine for examining your breasts, just be familiar with how they look and feel so that you notice changes. You can do this by looking and feeling in any way that makes you feel comfortable – in the bath or shower, when dressing, standing or lying down. If you find anything unusual or are worried, you should talk to your GP.

It has always baffled me to hear that large portions of the population (generally female) are “scared” (for lack of a better word) of their bodies and especially of getting to know them. I suspect that the problem is due to the generally conservative attitudes of most parents. We learn through their teachings and more importantly by their examples. I will bet that very few parents in the last two hundred years have said to their young “masturbation is not a crime” or more importantly “masturbation is good”. It certainly wouldn’t take much effort using Google to find a hundred quality websites that agree with me and can quote scientific studies. The key thing to note is that you would have to wade through thousands of sites that disagree with me. I’m tempted to blame religion, especially Christian beliefs, but I think parents are just generally uncomfortable with that topic and avoid it more than the infamous “birds and bees” discussion. It is easier to be negative.

Exploring your body is natural and more importantly it is necessary. In this day and age a great number of illnesses are treatable in their early stages (such as breast cancer) so it is important to notice changes. The earlier you see a doctor about that lump or mole or pain the more likely you will be diagnosed and treated successfully. Your health is more pressing than what your conservative mother will think about you spending a few extra moments in the morning examining your body.