During the month of October we’ve been seeing pink everywhere. Pink ribbons, pink shoes on the feet of macho football players, pink lights in the windows of tall skyscrapers in the city. It’s a concentrated effort to bring visibility to one of the most prevalent cancers in women: breast cancer.

Let me introduce you to my mom, Patsy Fleener. This picture was taken of her a few weeks ago when she had the opportunity to go down on the field at the Indianapolis Colts home football game as a breast cancer survivor.

My Aunt Judy had breast cancer, my mom had breast cancer, my maternal grandmother had breast cancer. You can bet that I take this thing seriously.

We’ve seen pink everywhere this month, but have you done anything about it this month? Has it prompted you to intentionally take better care of your body? Ask yourself these questions:

1) When was your last pap smear and annual medical check up? If it’s been longer than a year ago, stop reading, pick up the phone and make your appointment.

2) Are you doing a monthly breast self-exam? If not, put a star on your calendar or set an alarm on your phone to remind you to do it every month.

3) Are you exercising and eating well? A healthy diet and exercise can reduce the risk of cancer.

Don’t let the pink simply fade away as we head out of October and into November. Give that pink some power in your life to increase your awareness of breast cancer and to make sure that you are doing everything you can to take care of yourself.