Happy Healthy Boobs - Christine Kane

Last Spring, at my annual Ob-Gyn check up, my doctor noticed something in my left breast that made her brow crinkle up.

“Nothing to be too concerned about, but I’d like you to get a mammogram just to be sure,” she said.

Only problem is this:

When your doctor crinkles her brow while she’s grabbing your breast, it’s hard to hear the part about not being concerned.

So, during that 3-week mammogram waiting period, here’s the temptation:

Call everyone.

Get them to console you. Make them be just as scared as your most scary voices. Call your mother. Relax into the sound of her shock and sympathy and worry.

I know that temptation all too well.

Even worse, I know my mom all too well.  Much as I adore her, my Mom would call her best friend, who would then call her two daughters and her best friend, who would send out an email to pretty much everyone in the local catholic diocese.

It would become a Wildfire of Worry.

Ernest Holmes, founder of Religious Science, was an ardent believer in the power of our thoughts.  In other words —

EVERYONE is a practitioner.

By that, he means that the power of prayer in the form of thought is in everyone. Thoughts are major energy. Thoughts become things.

So, for instance, if you tell me that you’re scared you’ll lose your job, and I get worried for you losing your job, and I share it with all my friends – then I add my energy to that thought form in the Universe.  (Ernest would call this “malpractice.”)

So that day at the Ob-Gyn, as I stood in the parking lot, I made the choice to stop and shift the energy in my head to become something different:

Deliberate.

First, I gave myself permission myself be a little scared.

After all, we’re bombarded by the fear of the “C” word in every media outlet around.  We women are taught to be terrified of our own breasts at a very early age.  (Some women have mastectomies in their 30’s based solely on the “runs in the family” fear!)

Second, I reminded myself of my favorite affirmation.

It’s the one that makes me strong, and keeps me aligned with what I most know to be true:

“My body is wise. My body knows exactly what to do.”

Third, I called my husband.

He is a master of keeping his thoughts in a grounded conscious place.

After that, I told my two best friends, who also know the power of their own thoughts and words.

That’s it.

I deliberately chose not to tell anyone in my family.  I wanted clean thoughts and clean energy surrounding the next three weeks. My job was to honor that desire.

Everything turned out fine. The mammogram was clear. All was well.

Now, I’m not claiming to have the magic pill here.  But I did share this experience with several of my coaching groups over the summer.  I’ve since heard back from several women who later had similar experiences, chose not to spark the “wildfire of worry,” and created their own affirmations or used mine.

In fact, as they’ve supported each other, one affirmation has risen to the surface as the favorite for everyday use, for building trust in our bodies, and overall lightening up of the fear.

“Happy Healthy Boobs!”

Feel free to use it, and become a practitioner yourself!

18 COMMENTS ADD A COMMENT
  • katherineME

    Great article and I also absorbed the lesson, “If you hesitatie a little before pressing the publish button, this might very well be a good thing.” Thanks again, Christine for being real.

  • Suzanne

    Hi Christine,

    Last year I received the “It probably is nothing, but…” letter from the radiologist. My area of the country was buried under snow and ice and the phone lines were down so I couldn’t call my best friend across the country. Rather than tell a lot of local friends who would focus on the negative, I decided to do Reiki on my breast and picture it as completely healthy until the day the second mammogram was scheduled. When I arrived the radioligist told me they had scheduled an ultrasound as well “just in case.” Happily, within 20 minutes I was told that they found nothing at all on the second mammogram. I felt that the positive thinking, the affirmations, and the Reiki held the energy in a healing place so that the final result was good news. I am so glad that your news was good and you have “healthy happy boobs!”

  • Cynthia

    When this happened to me, at night when I went to bed, I cradled my breast in my hand telling her how much I loved her and that it would all be okay. Fortunately for both of us it is okay and we live that pesky huge cyst with gratitude.

    Blessings,
    Cynthia

  • Anna

    Found myself in this very situation…a couple of weeks after mom was diagnosed with breast CA. I told almost no one, mostly because it would have made me ruminate on it all that much more. Love the place I go to…they told me all was OK before I even left the building!

  • Kemie

    Hi Christine (Colin’s mom, here), I am going through the same thing, except that mine IS (or was, as I like to think) cancer. Caught very early, thanks to the mammogram and an eagle-eyed radiologist. I thank God for that! I have been through the range of emotions: anger, sadness, fear, rage, total and complete meltdown which scared my husband to death! Now I am at the point that I want them to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to make sure that I don’t have to do this again in five years, because it sucks. HOWEVER, I must say that where there are crosses, there are blessings and I have called upon God to heal me and my mind is full of positive thoughts and prayers. You are correct, your body knows exactly what to do, because we are created that way.

    I did tell lots of people because I want the gates of Heaven stormed with petitions for my healing. It’s working!

    Glad yours was nothing. As Roseanne Roseannadanna used to say, “It’s always somethin’…….”

    Kemie

  • Liv @ Choosing Beauty

    Terrific reminder that we are all connected and part of the same energy flow. How wise and brave of you to deliberately keep the flow moving in a positive direction and not give yourself over to fear and drama when facing the unknown. Bravo and thanks for sharing!

  • Sam

    Hi Christine,

    I loved your boobs picture, and your story. I remember a few years back when my mammogram looked ‘suspicious’, and the letter I got in the mail basically said “There is probably nothing to worry about, but we are scheduling you for an ultrasound”!! My head was doing backflips!. I told only my husband. I will admit there were times when I thought the worst, that “C” word, but I also knew in my heart there was no history of BC in my family AND that I had breastfed 2 children. Just after my ultrasound, the radiologist came in, took hold of my hand, looked me in the eye, and said, “I am here to tell you that you do not have breast cancer. I repeat. You do not have breast cancer.” Surprisingly, it was not the good news that touched me, but the way in which he gave me the news!

    I am also gald that I told no one but Tom. The rest can know later. Good choice,
    Christine, and I am happy it all turned out well for you, too..

    P.S. I was scared. too!

    Sam

  • Charlotte Rains Dixon

    I also went through this about 10 years ago, when I was less, um, how shall we say it..I was less evolved. I told nobody and suffered alone. Not the best approach, yours is much better. And I love “Happy Healthy Boobs!” A wonderful new mantra!

  • laine

    So interesting. I went through this a few years back. At first I didn’t tell anyone. I know I told my boyfriend at some point and he was very lovely about it. I told no one in my family. And I remember being really angry at all the people at the mammogram place. I remember thinking “I know this anger is because I’m really scared, but right now I just need to be angry.” It turned out to be nothing, and much later when I mentioned it to my sister she had the reaction that I knew she’d have – just short of histrionics – which is why I waited to tell her.

    But, you know, if I thought she was going to die of breast cancer I’d probably get pretty histrionic myself.

  • Julie

    Wow, what a topic Christine. I have experienced a few scares north of the waistline and am grateful they have all proved to be innocuous. That said, I wish I had had the luxury of choosing my support at these times and have found me and my husband clinging to eachother during the wait for the results. Love and best wishes to anyone experiencing this as long as you have one rock you will stay afloat.

    Christine, you and yours are in my thoughts.

  • Emily

    Love this post, Christine, and the title too!

    This is such a powerful lesson. Hearing this from you this summer had a huge impact on me and really helped me get clear on what thoughts & energy I wanted around me – and who in my life could stay in that space with me.

    Our bodies are wise and they do know just what to do – especially when we get our lizard brain heads out of the way 🙂

  • Mindful Mimi

    You do win a prize for catchy post title 🙂
    My Ob-Gyn sent me for a mammogram without finding anything worry-some in my boobs. Apparently when you hit 40 you’re supposed to be on the look-out… Ooh oh I thought. I had one done about 10 years ago when she found a knot which turned out to be nothing. Since then never thought about it much. But I have two aunts who died of breast cancer, so it does kind of run in the family which does make you kind of itchy on the subject…
    I told my husband and two colleagues. I wasn’t worried. But when the result came (thankfully immediately) I did feel some sort of weight fall off my chest… Oooof, safe for now 🙂
    M

  • David Jackson

    You really know how to work the SEO stuff with that headline.

    My mother’s family has been in the NIH study of familial Breast and Ovarian Cancer for a very long time. This is the study that identified BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations. For a very long time we kept our participation secret because people in the study had lost their insurance and even jobs. We all got legal protection recently and I am proud to talk about it now.

    The issues around how to respond to a genetic test have always been emotional. A woman who tests positive for these genetic mutations (5% of the population) is 70% likely to have a very aggressive form of breast cancer early in her life. So, does a woman with this mutation in her 30s have a mastectomy as a preventative measure? Being male, I cannot imagine the range of emotions that accompany this decision.

    It seems there is science, intention, and “magical thinking”. It is so easy for the ego to blame bad news on woo woo magical thinking, “I gave myself breast cancer because I failed to keep out the bad thoughts”. I continue to struggle with intention changing the universe. I get it in my head, and struggle with it in my heart.

    Love you Christine – DJ

  • Shishi

    I practice this way of thinking …it has always worked for me…..plus, humor is a wonderful thing!

  • Christine Kane

    thanks sue! i had that shaky moment of hesitation before hitting “Publish” – so i’m glad that the title worked!

    thanks kat!

    sheri – you crack me up!

  • Sheri McConnell

    Love your wisdom, always!

    And yes (I hate to say this) but my boobs look a little bit like the ones in the picture above after four kids!

    xxx and ooo’s

  • kat

    a very powerful, positive post and i agree with your process 100%!!

    (so happy that everything turned out well for you too!)

  • sue

    Ok, so you know I HAD to read this when I saw the title on Twitter! This was powerful when you shared it with us this year, and again reading it. And it makes me think about who I share things with as well, and how able they are to create that healthy space for me, and me for them. Thanks for this lesson in choice and the power of our decisions and mindsets. And LOVE the picture. 🙂