How many times have you heard someone ask, "Why did I get breast cancer? I don't understand. We have no history of breast cancer in my family. I am the only one who has or had breast cancer. I must have done something wrong. I must not have done everything that I needed to do in order to keep from getting breast cancer. Maybe this is God's way of punishing me for something that I have done. These thoughts go on and on and the breast cancer patient is so overwhelmed that there seems to be nothing that you can do or say to make a difference or help them to understand that a person does not get breast cancer because they are a bad person or because this is a karmic payback.
The most important thing to understand is that if we knew or understood why and how a particular person gets breast cancer, we would be able to come up with a cure. Even better, we would have already found a vaccine to keep us from getting breast cancer in the first place. If it were because of our diets, we could just change them and everything would be just fine. If it was because we don't get enough exercise, then we could just add more time to our existing efforts or find that special workout that would heal us. If it were because we were not religious enough then we would see that every person that we know who is religious would never have gotten breast cancer and we know that such is not the case. Let's be honest about this. We all know people who seem to lead a perfectly healthy lifestyle, who faithfully exercise, who have no history of breast cancer in their families and yet they still end up getting the disease. So while we know that we may need to consider these factors in perhaps giving us the best chance to not get breast cancer, we need to understand that there is so much more that we don't understand so that we don't buy into every new story we hear on a daily basis.
Bottom line: We don't know why we get breast cancer. Just as we hear one week that coffee is bad for us and then the next week we hear that there was a new study that indicates that coffee is good for us, so it is with similar stories that apply to breast cancer. For as long as I can remember, I heard that eating fish while pregnant was bad for the unborn child because of the potential of things like mercury poisoning. Now the latest study suggests that pregnant women and young children should be eating more fish. We hear that all sorts of exercise programs are really great after breast cancer, or to help in preventing it in the first place, but most of the time we are hearing that from someone who is trying to market their program to us so that they can make a lot of money. Many don't care if what they claim is true because if they do it right, they will have sold enough programs or equipment or whatever to make a fortune before anyone can prove that what they are saying isn't really valid.
I believe that it is time for all of us to start thinking for ourselves. We must stop letting all of the best marketers run our lives. If we have concerns that things that we are doing in our lives are not healthy then we should discuss that with the real experts and that is those who are a part of our medical team. But we must remember that no person, not even the very best in the medical field, has all of the answers. However, you can bet that what is suggested to you by a qualified medical person who knows you and all of the specific facts about your personal health situation is in a better position to help you make any changes that may be warranted. Even then, learning how to enjoy your life each day in all arenas is the only way that you can truly become healthier. When you learn to appreciate that it takes a balance of everything around you, and you can stop abusing yourself in any mental or physical way, then you will understand that nothing else matters. We just have to start being kinder and gentler to ourselves in order to live the healthiest lives possible whether it be before, during or after breast cancer.