Make It Go Away

Sheryl Crow, well-known singer and former girlfriend of Lance Armstrong (also a cancer survivor), was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006. Her situation sounds very similar to mine -- the cancer was caught early, and she had a lumpectomy followed by radiation therapy. While googling her today, I found a song that she wrote about her radiation treatment called "Make it Go Away." I can relate.

Here are the lyrics:

I stare into
Some great abyss
And calculate
The things I'd miss
If I could only
Make some sense of this

And Madam Butterfly
Resounds
Over the mothership
Her lights flashing around
I float above her and
I wonder how
To make it go away
Make it go away

I crawl into my circumstance
Lay on the table
Begging for another chance
But I was a good girl
I can't understand how to
Make it go away
Make it go away

Sometimes I wonder
Which hurts the worse
The thought of dying
Or reliving every hurt
Was love the illness
And disease the cure
Make it go away

Sheryl is just one of many celebrities who has weathered the breast cancer storm. Other well-known breast cancer survivors include Christina Applegate, Robin Roberts (ABC's Good Morning America Show), Jennifer Griffin (Fox News), Edie Falco (The Sopranos), Melissa Etheridge, Gloria Steinem, Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith (both of Charlie's Angels' fame), fashion designer Betsey Johnson, Rue McClanahan, Nancy Reagan, Betty Ford, Suzanne Somers, Cynthia Nixon (Sex in the City star), Lynn Redgrave, Carly Simon, Sandra Day O'Connor, Cokie Roberts (NPR), and Peggy Fleming and Dorothy Hamill (both figure skating stars).

Quite a list, eh? This disease is rampant, but, again, very treatable if caught early. It's our job as women to make sure that we stay on top of our healthcare and take all necessary steps to ensure that if we do develop cancer, it's detected early.

Have a great day.

Erin