Debbie Wasserman Schultz Quotes

People used to say everyone knows someone who's had breast cancer. In the past few weeks, I've learned something else: Everyone has someone close to them who has had breast cancer.

I had breast cancer. Yeah, I know it's scary.

It was a huge shock when my mum was diagnosed. She was 49 when she found a lump in one of her breasts and sensed something was wrong. At the time, we did a breast cancer campaign together. I still do a lot of charity runs.

My mother had breast cancer when she was 39.

I have a new found respect for women who have been through breast cancer and this surgery.

Although it happens more rarely in men, breast cancer is not gender-specific. I was in Costa Rica, and in the shower I felt this lump under my left nipple. It was very small, mind you, but enough to make me call my doctor.

In mid-July 2007, after a routine mammogram, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. As cancer diagnoses go, mine wasn't particularly scary. The affected area was small, and the surgeon seemed to think that a lumpectomy followed by radiation would eradicate the cancerous tissue.

I think a lot of people just aren't aware how young you can be and be diagnosed with breast cancer.

Shortly before I turned 37 and my older daughter turned 3, I was diagnosed with breast cancer: stage III of IV.

I always sort of thought, 'I'm probably going to get breast cancer. There's a really good chance.'

Breast cancer deaths in America have been declining for more than a decade. Much of that success is due to early detection and better treatments for women. I strongly encourage women to get a mammogram.

I'm a huge breast cancer awareness advocate because my mom went through breast cancer recently. It really brought our family closer.

I started realizing I could be an example for women to not just be aware of breast cancer but to act on it, to make an appointment, to give themselves an exam.

My mom, she's a breast cancer survivor and because of that I had started getting mammograms once a year, starting at age 30.

I take pride in knowing the NFL is pink in October, sparking conversations everywhere about breast cancer and prevention, all in the spirit of my mom.

If only there was a vaccine to protect against breast cancer, we'd be lining up - wouldn't we?

My mom was actually diagnosed with breast cancer when I was five.

In 1980, a woman promised her dying sister to change how Americans thought about breast cancer. Thirty years later, the result - the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation - is one of the nation's largest non-profits, and one of the most successful triumphs in public health marketing and changing health habits.

I am passionate about talking to women about their breast health.

For me it was just more important to get the cancer out. With the double mastectomy I now have less than one per cent chance of getting it back, otherwise it was 20, 30 or 40 per cent chance and for me it wasn't worth it.

I have six sisters and two beautiful daughters - that's eight women who mean the world to me. I support the Entertainment Industry Foundation and Lee National Denim Day because they fund programs that are making huge strides in breast cancer research and support.

Whenever women struggle with breast cancer and face better care than ever, that's feminism.

There are a lot of people who don't know what metastatic breast cancer is.

It wasn't until after the reduction that in the lab work, the pathology, that they found that I had DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ) in my left breast. I was very, very lucky because DCIS is basically stage-zero cancer. So I was very lucky.

On a personal note: I have contracted an outstanding case of breast cancer, from which I intend to recover. I don't need get-well cards, but I would like the beloved women readers to do something for me: Go. Get. The. Damn. Mammogram. Done.