Sunday Scribblings - "My Style" - 10/19/08

My style, or lack of style, can be categorized as beach/golf casual. I do not wear long pants unless the temperature nears freezing, which it seldom does here. I wear nothing but golf shirts and avoid any function or occupation that requires more formal apparel. I usually wear the same five or six shirts until I purchase others (always on discount), then the old ones fall from favor and are retired to the closet, never to see the light of day again. I wear my shirttail out. I am too fat to tuck. I dress for comfort, not to seek other’s approval. By dressing casual, I am always ready for a surprise Cat Scan or MRI, which seem to come quite often as I get older. If you look closely (you don't actually need to look very closely) you will notice a stain on the chest of each of my shirts. Another signature element of my sense of style is that I cannot seem to eat anything with any liquid content without wearing some of it on my shirt. Soup, gravy, sauce, syrup, doesn't matter. It will find it's way onto my shirt. I wear it as a badge, as a Wal-mart greeter proudly wears his nametag. It identifies the shirt as mine. I should own stock in Spray-N-Wash.

I am a fanatic about cleanliness and personal hygiene, but I only shave whenever I start looking like Kris Kringle. I do not wear sandals, as my toes are too gnarly to reveal to the general public. Children have been known to run away screaming at the mere sight of my toenails. I wear sneakers, tennis shoes, trainers, gym shoes, walking shoes, running shoes (though I never run) or plimsolls depending upon where you live. I don’t wear $200 Nike Air, rather I opt for the Costco Court Classic at $13.99. I have several pairs that I rotate and discard a pair when some important part falls off. Since I have several identical pairs, losing one shoe does not affect the utility of it's mate. I wear only white socks, Champion is my favorite brand of sock. The shoe rule applies to a lost sock or one that has become a quitter. It's mate is still in the rotation.

I have a pair of grey slacks, black shoes and dark socks for emergency use: funerals, Ruth’s Chris, etc. I wore a military uniform for twenty years and a coat and tie for several failed careers since then. Now, I will spend the rest of my life as a style less cretin. If clothes do make the man: I am unmade. The "guys" on "Queer Eye" would have a collective aneurysm if they got a load of me. That was not innuendo.

Christina Applegate bravely undergoes bilateral mastectomies for breast cancer and BRCA + gene

Christina Applegate's choice to bravely undergo a double mastectomy puts her in the company of a growing number of women taking aggressive steps to avoid dying of breast cancer. A recent article in USA Today states that studies show more patients are choosing mastectomies, even though women are just as likely to survive if they have smaller, breast-conserving surgeries.
Some of this growing trend has been spurred by technology: MRI scans that can detect smaller, earlier cancers; sophisticated genetic tests that can warn women of their inherited risks like the one Applegate was positive for. Newer techniques in plastic surgery for that makes more aggressive surgery more appealing (we are now able to do free flap reconstruction with the patients' own tissues to rebuild the breast, or use newer generation silicone gel implants after tissue expansion for reconstruction). There is no doubt that some women are opting for mastectomy because their fear of cancer and mortality looms larger than the immediate appearance of their breasts postoperatively. Federal legislation mandates insurance coverage of breast reconstruction after cancer so this is good for patients too.

Applegate, 36, was at high risk for breast cancer, both because her mother had the disease and because she carries a rare genetic mutation in a gene called BRCA-1, which increases the risk of developing aggressive disease at a young age--women with this gene have up to an 84% risk of breast cancer. Applegate told Good Morning America Tuesday that she had early-stage cancer in only one breast and underwent two lumpectomies, and she that opted for a double mastectomy after learning of the genetic mutation. Only about 5% to 7% of breast cancers carry these mutations.

Some women with the mutations opt to have preventive mastectomies even if they haven't been diagnosed with cancer given their high liklihood of developing breast cancer in one or both breasts in the future. A recent study in the International Journal of Cancer, for example, found 18% of women with the mutations took this approach. Applause for Christina Applegate for bringing public awareness to a disease that is diagnosed in 1 in 8 women. I wish her all the best in her recovery.

Every woman should remember to do monthly self-breast exams, mammogram starting at 40 or even earlier or with an MRI with a positive family history, and to consult with their doctor with any abnormal findings.