Dear Wheaton College

I've been thinking a lot recently about early detection, especially during Breast Cancer Awareness Month when we're bombarded by reminders to get a mammogram. As a young woman I really didn't feel like that messaging and those reminders were for me. So what can we say and do to reach younger women? The message that stuck was the one that I saw every day for 4 years during college: "Do your monthly self-exam!" Below is a letter I wrote yesterday and sent to the current president of my undergrad alma mater, Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts. 

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Dear President Hanno and the Wheaton Community,

I'm writing this letter in sincere gratitude to Wheaton College. Wheaton is an amazing college for many reasons, but I am writing today to specifically acknowledge the college's part in my early diagnosis of breast cancer. Not something you hear every day, huh?

I attended Wheaton from 2008 - 2012 and during that time every shower stall featured an informative card that hung from the shower head. The card showed a cartoon woman whose arm was raised above her head performing a breast self-exam and had step-by-step instructions on how to do a self-exam. This card greeted me every time I showered throughout college and, although it felt silly at first, soon my monthly self-exams were routine. 

After college I continued my monthly self-exams. Just six years after graduation and two weeks after my 28th birthday I felt something in my right breast that simply hadn't been there before. I knew what normal felt like and this was not normal. 

If you are 20 years old the chances of developing breast cancer in the next 10 years is 1 in 1,567, or 0.1%. Low odds, but it happens, and it happened to me. I was diagnosed with breast cancer on August 3rd, 2018 and had a double mastectomy surgery 5 weeks later. I will soon start taking Tamoxifen and will continue taking it for at least 5 years to help prevent recurrence. 

My cancer journey has been a negative box filled with many positives. Most importantly, my particular type of breast cancer is curable, largely due to the fact that I found it early. 

For a young woman, being familiar with your breasts is essential for early detection. Avoid meat and dairy. Exercise regularly. Do not use plastics for storing, preparing, or serving food and drink. Choose toxin-free cosmetics and household products. All of these suggestions are confirmed by research and are proven to reduce risk of all cancers. By far the most critical for early breast cancer detection is for women to know their breasts. Young women need to be diligent about their monthly self-exams and be proactive and speak with their doctor if they feel something strange.

Thank you to Wheaton College for being aware of and supporting women's breast health. Thank you to the people who hung those cards in each shower. I sure hope they are still hanging from shower heads throughout campus today. It is because of those cards that I found my cancer early and am healthy today. 

With deep gratitude, 

Austin Jessie Davidson

Class of 2012