Yarnacles: Boob-tober

Find the pattern for this whimsical awareness handbag at bubbihund

It was the end of the summer before my sophomore year of college. It had been a normal day of work as a "pack-and-ship pro" at the UPS store, followed by dinner with my parents. After the usual TV time with the 'rents, I told them I was going up to bed.

"Hold on a minute, your father has something to say to you," said my mother.

I stopped in the doorway to the living room and turned around. "What?" I asked, irritated in that way that teenagers are whenever their parents tell them to do anything at all.

"Come sit down." All of a sudden I knew something was up.

I sat next to my father and he said to me: "I went to the doctor last week and it turns out I have breast cancer." I was floored. As a biology major, I knew men could get breast cancer but I never thought it would happen to my own dad. "They caught it early and it looks like I won't need chemo or radiation, just surgery," he said.

It turns out he had felt a lump the winter before and though it was just a run of the mill cyst. In the spring, he slipped on some ice and fell on his chest, which left the lump irritated and red. Being a man (and a physician to boot) he did not go see his doctor until several weeks later. They scheduled a biopsy just to be sure it was nothing, but they found exactly what they weren't expecting.

My dad opted for a total mastectomy and his lymph nodes came back negative. After five years of Tamoxifen and multiple negative tests, it seems he is in remission. While his course of treatment was very short and the result was good compared to many other cases of breast cancer, it was still an intensely emotional experience for me. I was faced with my dad's mortality as well as fears about my own health. And tons and tons of questions: Will I get it? When should I get tested? Do we have the gene? Will the cancer come back in my dad? How did he get it? Unfortunately there are no easy answers, but with my physicians on my side I feel confident that if I do develop breast cancer we will catch it early and treat it.

October is breast cancer awareness month. So many women (and men!) are affected by this disease, you are almost sure to know one of them. So take some time this month to give them a hug, remember those we have lost, and crochet something!

Hit the jump for ways to raise awareness with your crocheting in every aspect of life: Accessorize, keep your drinks warm or cold, jazz up your iPad, you name it. Let's get the word out and find a cure.