Planned Parenthood Saved My Mom's Life

Planned Parenthood Saved My Mom’s Life

Since I never had health insurance growing up, I had to learn how to be resourceful when it came to taking care of my lady parts at a young age. Naturally, Planned Parenthood has been my OGBYN for years and no matter where I moved to when I left home or traveled to after college to pursue my struggling artist endeavers, I knew I could always count on a Planned Parenthood clinic that would accept me with open arms in times of horrible UTI’s, girl emergencies and general checkups. However, I was always worried about my mom back home, who, since English is her second language, didn’t necessarily have the skill-set to do much research on her own regarding personal healthcare. But she looked normal (and beautiful) and took routine checkups at the local emergency clinic every couple of years with fine results, so I assumed everything was okay for the time being (or at least until she got super old). However, in April 2008, when she was barely 50, my mom mentioned to me that she had been bothered by a strange lump in her left breast for a few months during a casual phone call. I completely freaked out. And although I felt helpless, being thousands of miles away from her, I knew I could rely on her local local Planned Parenthood to find out if anything was seriously wrong. So I called the number immediately and after quickly explaining the situation to the kind operator, she graciously squeezed my mom in for a same day appointment. Much to our dismay-she was subsequently diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. Through those hard times, Planned Parenthood treated us with care and respect, and even went as far to set my mom up with a specialist. Thanks to them, after struggling through surgery, radiation, chemo, and many tears, my mom is now cancer free. Since Breast cancer is a ticking-time bomb where months, weeks and even days can often mean a difference between life and death, Planned Parenthood’s prompt assistance and compassion was life-saving. Without them, my mom might not be here today. The defunding of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast-cancer foundation sends a horrible message that the lives of every single mother does not matter. That some mothers aren’t worth saving. Can the world really be that cruel? Planned Parenthood’s cancer screening program is so important and it needs our support. Without this amazing organization, I wouldn’t have known who to call or who to trust to ensure that my mom was in good hands in a time of great need. Please fight. Fight for mothers. Fight for every woman. Fight for Planned Parenthood!