Put THEIR Money Where YOUR Mouth Is - B(.)(.)BS!

Clever post title is it not? And believe it or not that's EXACTLY what this post is about!

As a tribute the good news my sister-in-law got today about the abnormality in her mammogram her doctor's office called her about 3 days ago, I wanted to take a minute to write about a woman that has no connection to my sister-in-law what-so-ever except that she knows me. This woman, Janis, has enabled me to take up the pink ribbon cause in what seems to be the only way possible for me. Chatting.

You see, I must admit than I am much geekier than many of you know. Most of my "friends" are little animated pixels, with real people controlling them from another computer, that join me in a digital world full of fantasy, bloodshed, death, and well... home decor. I am talking about the world of MMORPG's - or Massively Multi-player Online Role Playing Games. Think of Dungeons and Dragons computer game style and you've sort of got it but in MMO's there can be up to 2,000 or in some games even 3,000 people playing at any given part of the day. I met my dear friend Janis through the most recent one I've been playing, Everquest II. She and I have been emailing each other back and forth about our real lives because we haven't been able to play together for a little over a week now. And oddly I clicked on the link on the bottom of her email today that said "i'm making a difference. Make every IM count for the cause of your choice. Join now!" . I say "oddly" because I NEVER click the links at the bottom of emails. I just sort of ignore them much like I do commercials when I TIVO American Idol. And well if you don't click that link let me explain.. MSN's instant messenger system is now enticing people to use their instant messaging service over the instant messaging services put out by their competitors by donating a portion of the advertising revenue to the cause of your choice. My cause? Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Honestly it's a cause that I've been verbally supporting for over a decade now. My mother use to champion Breast Cancer Awareness Month for the Veteran's of Foreign Wars Women's League in her area. I remember every year her giving me a ribbon pin. I wish now that I would have kept them. I never thought then that breast cancer would hit so close to home or I would have done a hell of a lot more than just wear a pin to humor my mother.

Not only has my sister-in-law had a recent scare with an abnormal mammogram, but my Aunt on my mother's side is a survivor of breast cancer and the Christmas before my mother passed away she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. That gives me anywhere from a 20% to 36% chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer sometime in my life time just from those two things alone. Add into that several other factors that I won't bore you with and it's actually even higher.

Let me post now, however, that by while saying "I never thought then that breast cancer would hit so close to home or I would have done a hell of a lot more than just wear a pin to humor my mother." may SOUND narcissistic, it's not. I was just so terribly naive. With an annual diagnosis rate of roughly 180 THOUSAND women, breast cancer hits close to EVERYONE'S home. Your mother, your sister, your grandmother, your aunt, your friend. Chances are someone you know has had or will have to battle this demon. Help fight it. Chat away, use MSN's Instant Messenger today.

Oh and one more time for my breast cancer free Sister-in-Law - CONGRATS ON YOUR B(.)(.)BS!