Monday, October 17, 2011

Joining the Fight Against Breast Cancer

In my days as a single mother, I did whatever I could to bring in as much money as I could, in order to support my children.  It was necessary, as I couldn't land a single highly paying job that was enough to support a large family.

Although I was in college when I met my ex-husband so many years ago, it was his strong conviction that I quit college once we got engaged.  His thinking was that since he didn't have a college education, it made no sense for me to have one.  I followed his line of reasoning--at the time it made perfect sense.  I now scratch my head.  Not because of the craziness of his rationale, but because of my own naivete that allowed me to jump right into that sort of thinking with both feet.

The years as a single mom were difficult on so many levels.  The worst part being my need to work as much as I did, leaving nobody to raise the children but the children themselves.  I worked at a restaurant during the week and on weekend nights, and on the weekends during the day, I worked as a promotional model.

As a promotional model, I worked for an agency that offered assignments from various companies in need of live advertising.  I would receive a packet of information about the company, and specific information about the product being highlighted.  I had to learn company slogans, marketing pitches, and catch phrases, and on assignment, I was a representative of the company--their face, if you will.

Sometimes I represented Lever, or Dove, or Activia Yogurt.  It varied, but it seemed that since I have a typical look of a trusted housewife, I got a lot of body wash or laundry detergent assignments.  The Activia assignment must have been given to me because I looked constipated.

The company I worked for contracted regularly with Costco, so I'd be one of the many people handing out information as you shop.  Except I didn't hand out samples, and I didn't wear a net over my hair.  It was the most boring, meaningless work.  Like, mind blowing boring, but the rate of pay was very good, and it got us over many financial humps.  

I'm still on the company mailing list, so I get emails every now and then offering me events to cover.  A couple of weeks ago, I thought I'd put in for an event, and after 2 years of Promotional Modeling retirement, I was given an assignment.

It was in San Juan Capistrano, and I represented Proctor and Gamble.  The assignment was to hand out breast cancer awareness lapel pins, self exam guides, and to educate the public on Proctor and Gamble's partnership with the National Breast Cancer Foundation.  And with an assignment like this, I was to find that the work wouldn't be meaningless at all.

I was amazed at the numbers of women who told me that they were breast cancer survivors, and I was saddened by the numbers of people who shared with me that they lost a loved one to this terrible disease.  So many people.  More than once, I stood with tears in my eyes as people shared with me their loss.  It was sobering to see just how many people have been directly touched by this particular form of cancer.

In the information Proctor and Gamble sent me, there was a FAQ that stated that when breast cancer is detected early, the chances of surviving to see your 5 year anniversary post treatment rises to 95%.  Ninety-five percent!  That is amazing to me.  So much so, in fact, that I about hunted down every female, whether she was a teenager, or senior citizen.  Especially the teenagers.  They think they're so invincible when they're young, but if they get into the habit of doing monthly self exams now, they'll be more likely to stay in the habit, and it could save their life.

It was a cause I was happy to support, and it was a company I was happy to represent.  In fact, I felt like giving them a plug, on the house, on my own blog.  Every time you purchase a Proctor and Gamble product, you can rest assured that your dollars are going to a company who will use a portion of their profit in this fight against breast cancer.

Buy Proctor and Gamble.  Do your self exams.  Get your mammograms.  Stay healthy.

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