GirlTalk

I happened upon this story on Oprah.com and it caught my eye.
I remember watching Christina on Married with Children. She basically grew up on that show. Now’s she’s got her own show, Samantha Who? I haven’t watched it, but I have seen interviews Christina has given on various talk shows. She’s always impressed me as a smart young woman.
I’d heard she’d been diagnosed with breast cancer. Every so often you hear of some public figure who’s been diagnosed with the disease. We’ve got people here in Waynesboro who have been fighting the disease.

I interviewed someone a couple of years ago, who was in the “army” fighting it. Her name was Rita Handley. Recently I received a press release about Rita, who had attended the 5th Era of Hope meeting in Baltimore. It was a meeting sponsored by th Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program.
They discussed the lastest finding in breast cancer research and future directions to eradicate the disease.

Rita made an impression on me. The struggles she and her family had to go through - she is quite a strong lady.

In my opinion, Christina made a courageous choice, to have both breasts removed. It’s a decision that I don’t know that I could’ve made.

To view the story at Oprah.com:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/10/14/o.christina.applegate.double.mastectomy/index.html

In other news: October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. The Virginia Department of Health wants every woman to be able to get checked out. For women who don’t have health insurance, are 50-64, a resident of Virginia, can’t afford to pay their insurance deductible, their insurance doesn’t cover screening exams or who have incomes falling within a certain guideline the state is sponsoring a program called Every Woman’s Life, provides free mammograms, breast exams, Pap tests and pelvic exams. Women interested in the program can call 1-866-395-4968 or go to http://www.vahealth.org/breastcancer for more information.