Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Take the time to care for you, too

There are a lot of things we would all rather do than get a mammogram. We’ll make sure the cattle are fed, the weeds are pulled, the fence is fixed and the water tanks are full.

We’ll help with crop harvest, check the weather, check the markets and check on everybody else, but when it comes to checking on ourselves, suddenly we can’t find the time.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and a good reminder that a mammogram isn’t just another appointment to squeeze onto an already-crowded calendar.

It can save your life. Ladies, please move it up on your to-do list.

One of the challenges of living in rural America is that health care can mean more windshield time. The closest hospital, clinic or specialty service may be 30, 45 or even 60 miles away. Some rural communities don’t have a mammography facility nearby at all.

Getting a mammogram may mean rearranging your work schedule, finding someone to cover your responsibilities at the farm, making a long drive or turning a simple appointment into half a day or more.

I understand the temptation to say, “I’m feeling fine. It can wait.” But screening is important.

You don’t necessarily feel breast cancer in its early stages. A mammogram can find changes before you notice a lump or other symptoms.

And finding breast cancer earlier can mean more treatment options and a better chance of a positive outcome.

Here’s what I really want my fellow rural women to hear:

• You are worth the drive.

• You are worth taking the afternoon off.

• You are worth asking someone else to cover chores.

• You are worth putting your own name on the calendar.

We sometimes have a funny way of looking at taking care of ourselves. We’ll make sure everything at the farm is taken care of and everyone else is taken care of before we consider ourselves.

I get it. But being busy doesn’t make us bulletproof.

This isn’t about telling every woman exactly when she needs a mammogram. Screening recommendations can depend on your age, personal and family history, risk factors and other circumstances. That’s a conversation you should have with your health-care provider.

But if your mammogram is due, or you’ve been putting it off, maybe this is your sign. Make the appointment. Put it on the calendar. Get somebody to cover the chores. And just go.

There are people who need you, love you and are counting on you being around for a whole lot more years.

And if you’re hesitant because you have been told about or remember mammograms from years ago, today’s experience, at least for me, has been much different. Technology has improved, and the process is quicker, easier and less uncomfortable than it used to be.

Rural America has always understood the value of looking out for one another. Sometimes that means reminding the woman beside us that she matters, too.

Taking care of everyone else is important. But sometimes taking care of everyone else starts with taking care of ourselves.