The Titty Committee

In 2009 my great aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer. I still remember the moment I sat down with my mom and we cried as she told me the news. Over the next two years, my family participated in awareness fundraisers and traveled to visit my aunt as she went through each stage of treatment.  We watched as cancer monopolized her body and chemotherapy led to significant hair and weight loss. When she decided to have both breasts removed, in an effort to prevent the cancer from spreading, I witnessed one of the most influential woman in my life break down and begin to lose confidence in her beauty. After leaving her passion for teaching, she endured months and months of sickness until she was hospitalized in 2010. By the following January, cancer had spread to her lungs and our family gained an angel.

As a young girl, watching cancer deprive my aunt of time and confidence, was a very upsetting introduction to womanhood. Around this time, my friends and I gossiped about starting puberty, which meant wearing bras and comparing cup sizes. While I was always curious about the way my body would begin to change as I matured, in the back of my mind I held onto the constant reminder tthat in an instant, all of that could be taken away with the diagnosis of cancer. 

Breast development (which can begin as early as seven years old) is a girls first sign of transitioning from childhood to womanhood. At such an early age, we know little to nothing about our bodies, besides what media tells us. 

The media tells us so many false narratives associated with the way women’s bodies should look or how they are to be consumed by men.

In response, I say: “Oh, Hell No.”

When I took my first “health education class” I learned nothing productive about my breasts. I didn’t learn the importance of consuming healthy products that wouldn’t harm me physically or emotionally. I didn’t learn how to perform a breast exam on myself. I didn’t learn that it’s okay for my body to look different from others. My friends and I were societally conditioned to worry more about our bra straps showing than the health and development of the gems the bra was holding up.

Loss of breasts can have psychological effects on women. 

Acknowledgment of breast health is an important seed to plant in youth developing breasts, boobies, titties, and tots (shoutout to my girl Des for that reference!). Though it can be an evident sign of womanhood, there’s more to breasts than the superficial lens of how they look or even who looks at them. Breast development is just as much about internal health, as anything.

Awareness of breast health during this month is important, but calling attention to breast health is imperative throughout the year. Sometimes, young adults can get too comfortable with the health status of our bodies now (myself definitely included) and neglect to consider how our present actions and consumption can and will affect our bodies going forward. Now is as good a time as ever to start monthly examinations, to start paying attention to the signs our bodies give us and to actively care for our mental and physical health.

After losing my aunt, my family began to take serious precautions in our product consumption. Switching to more natural food, body, and cleaning products that helped minimize the potential for cancer development was a start. Learning about how breast cancer affects women of color and how the gene could present itself, was another. Though breast cancer is most commonly diagnosed in women over the age of 50, almost 5% of cases have occurred in women under 40. Additionally, the rate at which Black women are diagnosed with breast cancer is 40% higher than white women.

Within the past two years, two of my cousins have been diagnosed with breast cancer; both of them in their 30’s. Though technology and health care have tremendously advanced since 2009, one critical factor that helped with the success of their treatments was early detection. Incorporating breast exams into our everyday routines and teaching young women about the importance of breast health vs physical heed. Lastly, when your body tells you something isn’t right or you notice something has changed, speak up! No one knows your body the way you do therefore no one can advocate for your body the way you can. Don’t let anyone, especially a health professional, disregard your discomfort. Period.

Being that this is a month of Brest Cancer Awareness, I hope I’ve been able to encourage all college women to be advocates for themselves and their bodies. It is important for people to acknowledge and bring awareness to breast health and to hold our individual communities accountable to breast health. Let’s erase taboos associated with talking about our body and let’s be inclusive in our efforts to do so. No one’s body is the same as another person’s body and it is our responsibility to uplift and encourage one another in their explorations and understandings. 

Happy October and good luck in all your efforts to spread awareness and advocate for yourself.

How to perform a breast exam

Here are some steps to help walk you through the process of self-examining and below is an image. Both are great resources that could go a long way toward noticing changes in breast health.