October marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and BlackVoices is highlighting those who've fought the good fight and those who've witnessed their loved ones do the same.
Touched By Breast Cancer
"I've taken my cue from people here and from viewers, especially survivors . . . who said, 'When it's time to literally flip your wig, you'll know. I am not my hair. I am the soul that lies within and that's it." -- Survivor Robin Roberts, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007.
"Yea, I'm going to face challenges, but you can't get any darker than where I've been. So, just knowing that in my soul gave me the strength to just say, 'I have to get out there and -- and make this positive." -- Survivor Christina Applegate, diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008.
"Fear of the unknown is a deterrent for some women. But I had to realize that knowing what is happening in my body is far preferable to wondering what might be happening. We don't want to imagine scenarios -- we want to know the situation so we can deal with it, rather than with speculative possibilities." -- Survivor Diahann Carroll, diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998.
"I take very good care of myself (mostly because I didn't many years ago), and that served me well during chemo. Running every day made me feel calm and strong, even as my self-image suffered from my hair falling out. I'd wear all kinds of crazy little hats with hair attachments. I'd even wear them to bed so I wouldn't be frightened if I walked by a mirror before I was really awake." -- Survivor Edie Falco, diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003.
"We've begun to raise daughters more like sons... but few have the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters." -- Survivor Gloria Steinem, diagnosed with breast cancer in 1986.
"The kind of beauty I want most is the hard-to-get kind that comes from within -- strength, courage, dignity." -- Survivor Ruby Dee, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1974.
"I was one of those people who ate apples. I ran in the park every day, religiously. I hardly drank -- maybe on the weekends, likely not. Never did anything bad. The idea that on Monday I'm the picture of good health and then on Tuesday I'm going to the doctors and they're saying, 'Uh-oh, there's a problem,' blew my mind." -- Survivor Hoda Kotb, diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007.
"Having had cancer, one important thing to know is you're still the same person at the end. You're stripped down to near zero. But most people come out the other end feeling more like themselves than ever before." -- Survivor Kylie Minogue, diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005.
"The doctor told me, 'You have breast cancer.' I heard the cancer part first -- it was only later that I heard the breast part. I couldn't believe it."-- Survivor Richard Roundtree, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993.
"And I'm not gonna be afraid of the truth. The truth is, yes I had cancer. Yes, I got it out of me. Yes, I went through chemotherapy. Yes, I'm bald."-- Survivor Melissa Etheridge, diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004.