It’s the last day of breast cancer awareness month, and if my OBGYN, who found my lump two years ago, hadn’t said this month made him think of me, would I have even cared?

Honestly? No.

So many bad things are happening worldwide, from wars to mass panic–no one can add cancer awareness to the list.

Because that’s what breast cancer month is all about, right? It’s just one more thing to fear. (Hint, it gives you the fright of your life and ends on Halloween).

And don’t let the pink ribbon fool you. Men can be unlucky enough to get breast cancer, too,

And as a breast cancer graduate, I don’t need any more awareness and fear–been there; done that.

I’ve had my fright, so bring on the flight. I’ve milked denial for all it’s worth–no more yearly mammogram reminders for me; just saying.

But the doctor shook me out of denial by reminding me I’m a fighter, just like the others who fought and surrendered their lives to breast cancer and all the heroes who helped us along the way. This month honors those on all sides of the fight; being part of such an elite team runs deep.

But the doctor inspected my fake boobs. No need to check for breast cancer on me now; all he could say was plastics did a good job.

I laughed at the absurdity of such a thing with my funny-looking boobs, “Yeah, some job that was; I can’t be a boob model now.”

My fake boobs still make me laugh. How can I not love them? They’re what’s real about breast cancer awareness month. Whenever I glance in the mirror, I appreciate what’s been staring at me for a year now.

Let’s laugh and love life’s imperfections.

Let’s take this month to be real with ourselves. Forgive what we don’t like and love what we see.

And if we dig deep enough, we’ll dare to see who we are.

Am I a bad-boob mamma with Mother’s Day and a whole month in her honor?

Or am I something more?

And if I’m something more, are you something more too? Do you love yourself as much as deeply as you hate all the world’s atrocities?

I was getting ready to leave the doctor’s office. It’s our yearly ritual for me to thank him that he’s the one who found it. He saved my life.

To lighten the mood, he said, “Anyone would have found it (it was that big). It just happened to be me.”

Breast cancer awareness month can be whatever you make it.

It reminds me to take a deep, hard look in the mirror and love what I see and what so many people had a hand in shaping. And when I can have that profound moment with myself, I start to see the world a little differently.

But it’s Halloween tonight. Maybe you have young kids who remind you to have fun. And for the rest of us, I already had my trick; now it’s time for my treat–like Adam Sandler says, “Gimme some candy.”