Before I was old enough to comprehend...

...what breast cancer was; I knew it could someday kill me. I only knew breast cancer as a phantom disease that claimed innocent lives without warning. There wasn’t much discussion in the earlier years about the details; I just knew our family history put me at a higher risk than others, and that I too would someday have to deal with this vicious disease. Every month my mother would diligently perform her monthly self exam. She took this opportunity to remind me of my risk, and that someday I too would need to perform the monthly ritual of searching for the lump that would alter life as I knew it. Even at that young age I could tell she was really scared for me, and that was terrifying.