Molly Ivins Quotes

If I were a 40-year-old woman, 40-to-50, I'd want to be getting my mammograms. They catch cancers, and cancer is very curable if you catch it early.

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.

Every woman needs to know the facts. And the fact is, when it comes to breast cancer, every woman is at risk.

And I would urge all women to have that regular mammogram.

All women should understand that a mammogram is nothing to be afraid of. It's not an enemy but a friend. Early detection is the key to the cure.

With breast cancer, it's all about detection. You have to educate young women and encourage them to do everything they have to do.

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.

If you have breast tissue, you can have breast cancer. So don’t be macho about it.

There can be life after breast cancer. The prerequisite is early detection.

Breast cancer is being detected at an earlier, more treatable stage these days, largely because women are taking more preventive measures, like self-exams and regular mammograms. And treatment is getting better too.

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

Most breast cancer-related deaths can be prevented through simple and painless preventive measures. A late diagnosis can result in more serious, long-term consequences.

I wasn't prepared to get a mammogram until I was 40 years old, like I'd been told. I never in my wildest dreams expected anything to be wrong.

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

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.

I would encourage all women to get mammograms when their doctors tell them to.

Being a breast cancer survivor, as I like to call myself - it will be twenty years next year - I did it to make it possible for women to do regular self breast examinations. It's really important - and, it makes common sense: you know your body better than the doctor does who only sees you once a year, you know?

Well, right now, technically, I have no breast cancer.

I had been afraid of breast cancer, as I suspect most women are, from the time I hit adolescence. At that age, when our emerging sexuality is our central preoccupation, the idea of disfigurement of a breast is particularly horrifying.

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

Mammograms are really sort of a gift. You can either catch something early or count your lucky stars because nothing was discovered. Either way, you're ahead of the game.

In June 1992, I discovered a lump in my breast. A subsequent mammogram, ultrasound and a needle biopsy proved negative. But my instinct said it still didn't feel right, so I had a lumpectomy. I then got the news that it was cancer.

For years I heeded the warning: Do monthly breast self-exams. Like most women, I did them on a 'sort of' basis. Every few months I'd sort of do a quick feel, but never as thoroughly as the doctors urged. I didn't want to go looking for trouble. If you look for it, you might find it. Looking for cancer is unsettling. Thank God I looked.

I'm not about my breasts; I'm just about good health, OK. I'm not afraid of doing what I need to do to stay here. I really don't understand women who are in denial, who don't want to go for a mammogram. I think it's stupidity. Sorry. I have no patience for that.

I had breast cancer. I caught it early.