Why I'm a Sista

As we near the middle of Movember, I have been so touched by all of your manicures, comments, and stories!  This week, I am showing my Mo Sista pride!

I support the men in my life because I need them healthy.  I'm a Mo Sista because my dad is healthy and looking at a long life after cancer because he was aware and informed.  I don't know what my world would be without him, and don't want to.  That's why I promote and support Movember.

I'm a Sista because I'm a sister.  I have two brothers whom I love more than they can ever know and never want to see them fight a battle against prostate or testicular cancer (or any other, for that matter) and want to support research.  I need people who sit up late watching Family Guy with me so that I don't feel so guilty.  I need to see them become the men that that they were born to be. 

 

I probably could have planned this mani a bit better.  I used a coat of Sinful Colors Snow Me White with 2 coats of Sinful Colors Pearl Harbor over the top.  I got this pretty blue iridescent glitter at Rite Aid for 49 cents this week!  I'm bummed that it doesn't really show up blue on the nail in these photos, but it does in real life.  I used my Holo Black Striper by Color Club to write and another awesome mustache decal from RLR Creations Nail Art's Etsy shop to cross my "t."  I probably should have made my thumb the "a" to make positioning my hand easier for photos.  Oh well!

The bottom line is that I love too many men to let their health go unnoticed.  I have too many friends, too many family members, too many people who have impacted my life not to care.  You have heard my story and the facts, but the reality is that I am a girl that loves guys and needs them around for a very long time.  Just as openly and strongly as we have demanded attention for breast cancer, I want us to say that these treatable cancers, when detected early, get no more lives.  They've had their share, and now we get to win.  We get to keep the men we love.  A sista needs her brother!  And father!  And friends!




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Movember: In the Know

Here's another installment of my Movember series that started last week.  This also coincides with Polly Polish's Polish Days theme for this month!  The more awareness and support, the better!  Make sure that you check out all of the awesome ladies putting their time into this cause.

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hardener
*2 coats Zoya Skylar--light blue is the color of prostate cancer awareness
*2 coats Zoya Tru--"orchid" is the color of testicular cancer awareness
*1 coat Seche Vite

This week I wanted to represent both sides of the Movember movement.  Tru, the pretty purple flecked with golden shimmer, is my accent nail with another rad moustache from RLR Creations Nail Art for testicular cancer.  Here is some information from www.cancer.org, provided by the American Cancer Society:

*There are estimated to be 8,590 new cases diagnosed in 2012
*360 men will die from testicular cancer
*This cancer is not as common as many others out there, but 1 in 270 men will develop it and 1 in 5,000 will die from it.  That is still too much.




 Skylar, a dusty light blue with silver shimmer, is for prostate cancer.

*There are estimated to be 241,740 new cases diagnosed in 2012.
*In 2012, 28,170 men will die from this.
*In their lifetime, 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer.  It is the second deadliest cancer for men behind lung cancer.
*More than 2.5 million men are living as survivors in the US today.
*Detection saves lives!  When found as "local" cancer (only in the prostate) or "regional" (nearby areas, non-lymph nodes) survival is nearly 100%!
*"Distant" cases where the cancer spreads to other areas, bones, or distant lymph nodes have about a 29% survival rate.
*The 15 year survival rate for men diagnosed is 91%.

 

 

The numbers really do say it all.  For prostate cancer, which can be caught in annual exams and PSA tests, early detection can be treated.  Testicular cancer can be harder to catch, and is less common, but can be noticed through self-exams.  The sooner you know what is going on in your body, the more options you have for treatment. It may be uncomfortable, embarrassing or scary, but regular exams save lives!  This may not be a "young man's" disease, but my dad is well below the average age of men (67, according to seer.cancer.gov).  On the other hand, the median age for testicular cancer is 33!  Listen to your doctors, but also feel empowered to speak up if you feel that something is not quite right.  You know you better than anyone!  While the odds may be a bit scary for facing this in your life, the statistics of survival are really hopeful--this can be beaten!

 

I'll be posting a bit more this moth, and would LOVE it if you would like to add to the mo-vement!  Do a mani, tell a story, spread the word!  Please link up your work to my gallery below (and the Polish Days one!) so that I can see and show off your work!  You are also more than welcome to grab the link and add it to your post!

 

 



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My Movember story

Today is November first, the beginning of Movember.  This is a very personal month and cause for me.  If you don't know the purpose of Movember, I really recommend that you take a minute to check out their website.  In a nutshell, it is a month of bringing awareness and funding to men's health, specifically prostate and testicular cancers, by growing a mustache.  It's all about getting the conversation and research going.

On Valentine's Day in 2011 my dad called me.  I was working night shifts and incredibly disoriented when he let me know that they had been seeing his doctor who had diagnosed him with early-stage prostate cancer.  The rest of that day was a haze.  He told me it was early and slow-growing, but all I could hear was cancer and I wasn't sure why I had such an insane dream that I couldn't pull out of.  I couldn't really wrap my mind around my dad having cancer.  Cancer.
My dad was a champ.  He was brave and honest.  We are fortunate to live near world-class medical centers. When he went to see a specialist, his biggest news was "I think I have Lance Armstrong's doc."  That's my dad!
After a lot of testing, discussion, prayer and thought, he decided to undergo surgery this past March.  Again, I spent a day in a haze.  I've always been a daddy's girl, his only daughter, the night owl who stayed up far into the night listening to stories and talking with him.  When I talked with my mom that night and heard that things went perfectly, literally THE best case scenario, I could only cry.
My dad has had months of recovery and working to get back into life as a conqueror of cancer.  Just a few days ago he received the all-clear from his specialist to simply check in with his personal doctor every six months as a cancer survivor!
We were so blessed and fortunate to have had amazing doctors and wonderful research that gave him back his health.  An important part of that is due to early detection.

Enter the mustache.

This month is about promoting men's health and talking about these cancers.  We have been so open to talking about breast cancer and women's health, which is empowering and so important, but men tend to avoid this subject.  Cue Movember.  As I mentioned in one of my Go Pink posts, a cure for one cancer is hope for all.  I'm committed to being a Mo Sista, spreading awareness because the men in my life are important to me.  Like my dad, knowing their bodies and their PSA numbers can save their lives.  I want to help make this as easy and natural to talk about as "Save the ta-tas" has become. 

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hardener
*2 coats Color Club Take Me To Your Chateau
*1 coat Pure Ice Oh Baby!
*1 coat Out the Door (2 on accent nail)

That awesome little mustache is a nail decal from RLR Creations Nail Art on Etsy.  They are super inexpensive and easy to use, and much neater than my nail art!  Love it!

I used Take Me To Your Chateau, a pale blue cream, for prostate cancer awareness.  It is really opaque, but streaked a bit, so I added Oh Baby! over the top to camouflage the brush strokes.  This is a gorgeous, fine blue shimmer (you can really see it in the photo above). 

So this month is about bringing awareness to men and their health because it is personal, even for a girl.  I'll be posting some more manis about this subject, and would LOVE it if you would join me.  If you do, let me see your work!  Add onto the gallery below with your own story, your own ideas, your own Movember movement! 





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