October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time to sport pink in solidarity with cancer survivors, cancer fighters, their families and the persons who have lost the battle.

It’s a whole thirty-one days of activities including plans to stage parades; talks and walks to raise awareness and corporate ads on television, re-engineered to include information about the disease.

A pink ribbon is the symbol associated with this aggressive push to raise awareness and persons are encouraged to wear pink articles of clothing.

It is advisable that women over the age of 40 get a mammogram, as instructed by a physician, along with your daily breast self exam for early detection, since the earlier the treatment the more effective the cure.

My physician discovered a small lump one day while doing a mutually satisfying breast examination, and he wanted to be on the safe side so he recommended a mammogram. I am not overly endowed in the chest department. I did as I was told, but half way through the prepping for the glamour shots on the radiology machine, I had to call it quits. I’m still trying to remember if I somehow wronged the lady administering the test in this or a past life.

I wondered if her sole purpose in life was to give patients breast cancer as opposed to detecting it. The woman grabbed and squeezed and handled by little ‘lime seeds’ so roughly, that the inner city almost jumped out of me and attacked her. Luckily for her I summoned the strength to call a halt to the proceedings before it got ugly. Thankfully, the lump turned out to be a swollen lymph node and life went on.

Breast cancer is no joke however, I recently lost a friend to it, but if we were to highlight illnesses and diseases in today’s modern world, we would definitely need more months in the year. Based on the rate at how scientists are ‘discovering’ newer and more devastating human afflictions, we would probably be acknowledging one a week.

I’m not suggesting that these ailments didn’t always exist and somehow were being misdiagnosed as something else, but I long for a simpler time when my great grandparents only had to deal with ‘pressure’ and ‘sugar’ . Isn’t it odd though, that diseases that could’ve benefited us as people of African descent during slavery are just now popping up? Where was Teretz disease when my forefathers wanted to tell off a backra master and blame it on his condition? Where was Alzheimers Disease when my ancestors took a chance, ran away from the hardships and got caught? And where the hell was Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, with all that machete wielding in the field? That would have been a handy ailment to get a few days bed rest?

Life is something else, isn’t it? It is what it is and the world will just keep on turning, so get your tests done, consult your physician, try to eat right, squeeze in some exercise, but most importantly think happy thoughts.

The body reacts to stress and bad mind by warping our cells and causing disease. Live and laugh my people, laughter is still the best medicine around.

Have a great weekend. (This week’s article is dedicated to the memory of Andrea Bowes, I know her soul rests in peace) Email me your comments elvachatalot@yahoo.com and follow me on Twitter @ElvaJamaica for more random thoughts.