And I’m feeeeling good!

I am one lucky lady.

I have the best people in my life that choose to make an impact on the world even if in the smallest way.

My friend, Alicia, is a spokesperson for the Ava Anderson beauty products and this month she has decided to do something really special. She has a career  in the medical field just like me and sees the importance in health and cancer prevention/awareness. (Smart woman! :))

So this month, Alicia has most generously decided to donate ALL of her profits (that’s much more that 25%! Read this to understand this little remark)!!! She will use ALL of her commissions to make gift bags full of non-toxic products and distribute them to patients undergoing chemotherapy and/or radiation.

Awesome!!

If you feel like helping out a little, here is what you can do…

Hit up this website: HERE

All you have to do is put in your order, get great products, and know that your moolah is going to a great cause! These women deserve to feel great ANNNND using non-toxic products in just a huge added bonus.

If that isn’t enough to convince you, listen to this…

All orders that are $30+ will receive a FREE reusable Ava tote or spend $95+ will receive a FREE anti-aging mask!

So do it peeps,

and feel good that you are making someone else feel good!

Happy Shopping!

Oh, put a sock in it

The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk is THIS Sunday.

I am signed up and my shoes are ready, however, it would be great if I had some donations to take with me. If you would like to donate please click down below.

I know I am on the late show (procrastination is my middle name), but any type of donation would be wonderful.

And if you are my local readers and recognize my mom or I, don’t be afraid to come say hi 🙂

Click here to visit my PERSONAL page.

ANNNNNND….

Here is a nice lil’ video to see what you are supporting

pink heals

Have any of you seen a big pink fire truck driving around lately?

Well, it can not be missed.

The Pink Heals tour is about celebrating people and women by going from city to city and allowing breast cancer survivors to write all over this pink fire truck. This tour is to help fight against breast cancer and create awareness. All of the funding that they work off of is just from purchases from their website and stops on the tour. And the people who drive these trucks are just volunteers who are willing to be away from their own families, to help other families.

It is amazing how awesome people can be and how often we can forget.

Last year we were lucky enough to see this truck in person and my mom got to sign it!

It is full of little inspiring messages, in memory of’s, and promoting education of breast cancer.

My mom sure did deserve her little spot on the big pink truck.

Only her and other cancer survivors truly know what it is to

fight,

overcome,

&

heal.

dream. love. cure.

Dream.Love.Cure…

is another one of those organizations that helps promote awareness to young adults and teenagers.

It was founded by Rob Dyer, who was affected when his mother died from breast cancer. He started Skate 4 Cancer and Dream. Love. Cure.

Both are all over the place (literally) educating and sharing stories of inspiration along with heartbreak.

Here is the website if you would like to check them out…

www.dreamlovecure.org 

Pink Pumpkin

 

It is almost Halloween which means scary monsters, spooky decorations, and pumpkin carving!

This year if you are in the Fresno/Clovis area head over to The Patch (on the corner of Herndon and Clovis). They are selling real pink pumpkins and some of the profits go to the Sisterhood of Survivors.

You may remember them from the blog post I wrote last year. Well, they are still great and still helping many women, so help them out by purchasing a cool pink pumpkin.

It is just in time for pumpkin carving parties or fun family time with the kids.

So go pick up that pink pumpkin tonight

and don’t forget to check for lumps.

i heart boobies

By now I am sure that everyone has seen all these teenagers walking around with an arm full of bracelets. You might even notice a thicker one that reads, “I ❤ boobies”. Now before you think that little emo kid is a perv be aware that they are actually promoting a great cause and foundation.

Keep-a-Breast is a non-profit organization that tries to appeal to a younger audience in hopes of spreading awareness. This organization is EVERYWHERE…Warped tour, surfing events, snowboarding events, and many different retail stores.

The younger you are, the better it is to be aware. My seventeen year old brother had three of these bracelets before my mother was even diagnosed so Keep-a-Breast is doing what they set out to do.

Whether you are wearing the bracelet to be a part of the trend or wearing it for someone, the point is you’re wearing it. And like my brother you might look down at your wrist one day and have a different outlook on what that little rubber bracelet means, than what you did before.

Here is the link to learn more about Keep-a-Breast & a cool little somethin’ somethin’ to watch 🙂

www.keep-a-breast.org 

Oh mother, what nice genes you have…

Our mother lost her own breasts so she can save ours!

The Power of Genetic Testing

We received a text from our mother “. . . I do NOT have the cancer gene. It was a fluke that I had this disease and it is 100% sure that there is NOTHING I could pass to you all or your children. THANK GOD!!!”  

Our mother had genetic testing for cancer cells done September 27^th. We received the results on October 19^th and fortunately it was negative! For those of you who do not know what genetic testing entails, here is the breakdown. . . .

In a normal healthy cell, BRCA1 and BRCA2 are human genes that belong to a class of genes known as tumor suppressors. (National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health). Patients have blood drawn and the blood gets sent to a lab to look for harmful mutating BRCA cells. If lab techs and doctors find harmful BRCA1 and BRCA2 cells in the blood, this can potentially cause cancer in the human body at a later time. BRCA1 & BRCA2 stands for Breast Cancer susceptibility gene 1 and 2. Research shows these genes play a role in the development of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. Women who inherit this gene are at greater risk in developing breast cancer because of the harmful mutation of these cells. Men are also at risk. The results usually take about two to three weeks which can seem like an eternity when waiting for the results. Fortunately for our mother and our families (I’ll explain later), she came back negative! For those who have positive results, there are ways to manage their risks for themselves and for their loved ones.

I highly encourage this test! This test can help prevent breast or ovarian cancer in future generations to come. This IS a life saver! Our mother took this test for all of US KIDS especially her DAUGHTERS and her future GRANDDAUGHTERS. She took this test for her SISTERS and THEIR DAUGHTERS and their FUTURE GRANDDAUGHTERS. She was very nervous to take this test because of the possible results that may be, but she did this for us. And for that, we are eternally grateful. Us WOMEN in our entire family do not have to worry as much as one would if she had a positive result. All us women can sleep a little easier at night knowing that we still have a decreased chance of getting this deleterious disease in our family again because it was a FLUKE for her to get it. She is the LUCKY one and it is a miracle in our eyes and I hope this for all the other women out there in the world. As my eyes right now are teary as I write this. . . . . OUR MOTHER LOST HER OWN BREASTS SO SHE CAN SAVE OURS!

Today was another GREAT day!

– Jessica Hernandez

Ch-ch-check em out

The good thing about being in the public eye is that it makes it easier for people to listen to what you have to say. Christina Applegate and Fran Drescher both have created foundations to help women get mammograms, MRI’s and/or ultrasounds who may not have insurance or under the age of 40.

FYI: If you don’t know what a mammogram is just head on over to www.komen.org 

It has great information and will help you understand why mammograms are so important. MRIs and ultrasounds are just as important as well. Sometimes the breasts can be dense making it hard to spot any abnormalities and it is easier to find through MRIs or ultrasounds. That is what happened in both my mother’s and Christina Applegate’s cases.

There are also programs for women under the age of forty to get checked. In most cases offices do not check women under that age because it is not considered high risk, however, more women are getting breast cancer at younger ages. I am not a fan of this because I have read many stories of women as young as twenty-five getting breast cancer. Luckily, there are people who feel the same way and are willing to help young women find it as early as possible.

Here are the links to the Christina Applegate Foundation. Her foundation helps women who are not insured to get mammograms.

www.rightactionforwomen.org

&

Here is the link to Fran Drescher’s foundation called Cancer Schmancer. She also helps with uninsured women and women under 40.

www.cancerschmancer.org

I, myself, have spoken with people with Fran Drescher’s foundation and they are great. Both are informative and very helpful.

Now that you have a little information strap on your big girl bra and go get those babies checked out if you haven’t already.

You may be happy you did!

F Cancer

 

Along with researching celebrities that had cancer, I researched nonprofit organizations. There are many and all of which give great information. However, there was one that really struck me and I related to the founder so much.  Her name is Yael Cohen and she started Fuck Cancer. Her story was just like mine and I felt connected to everything she explained in her own blogs and interviews. When I watched her speeches I knew I felt just as her when she explained how she felt the need to take action. After I understood more about cancer I told people about my mom and encouraged them to get checked. In one of Yael’s speeches she explains that 90% of cancers are curable at stage one. SERIOUSLY?! Get checked people. It is THAT easy!

I decided to get involved with Fuck Cancer and contacted them to start my own chapter. Every time we exchanged emails or I spoke to them on the phone they were extremely nice and very helpful. This is a great organization and I still plan on starting my own chapter. Some of you who read this are my friends on facebook so you see my links about cancer or cancer prevention. This is so important to me because I remember EVERY feeling I went through and I would never wish that upon anyone. I do hope you absorb some of the words I say even if you have never experienced anything like this yourself. If you don’t listen to my words maybe you will listen to Yael Cohen’s as I once did.

Here is Yael’s first speech I ever watched and my first insight that I could possibly make a difference.