Even though I don't usually do this kind of thing, I really wanted to make something for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) this year; especially with everything that's been going on with me and my family here lately.

I guess I never paid the campaign much mind; especially since for the longest time, I was of the mindset of "Oh, that's cool people are doing this; but this'll never affect me in any way, so why even worry about it?"

Then my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer about 5-6 months ago; and now, I understand and appreciate how important something like this really is. Every year, thousands (maybe even hundreds of thousands) of women develop breast cancer every year; in the United States alone. And a lot of these cases can be easily prevented through yearly check-ups and mammograms; the kind of things that may be demeaning to do, but I assure you, a little bit of embarrassment is a heck of a lot better than the alternative.

So if you know anyone that hasn't been taking their yearly mammogram (especially your mom, your girlfriend, your spouse, or even yourself), then please, I highly urge you to do so as soon as possible. Don't ever let yourself get into that mindset of "Oh, but it'll never happen to me", because I used to be in that mindset myself too and clearly, it didn't work out well for me or my mom.

Also, if you have a couple of dollars just burning a hole in your pocket and you have no idea what to do with it, then by all means, donate that pocket change to any Breast Cancer Awareness charity you can find (that also happens to be a legitimate organization, of course). Most (if not all) of these charities provide funds to other organizations for not only invaluable research against breast cancer, but also counseling, financial aid and various other amenities to victims and their families affected by such a horrible malady. So even if you can only spare a few dollars (or even a few cents), it's certainly a step closer to finding even better ways to treat breast cancer (and the way I see it, that's the kind of thing worth investing in). :)

Oh and before anyone asks, the reason I used my Chelsea instead of someone more...erhm...shall we say "qualified" for something like this (like my Bonnie for instance), I suppose it's because I wanted to do something that I thought would be a bit more respectful of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, while also involving someone that I considered as one of my main characters.

Now don't get me wrong, I certainly don't mind seeing a rather buxom lady informing others about the importance of breast cancer awareness and it's research (especially with the stuff I usually draw); but at the same time, I felt going that way would be a bit too...I don't know, "hokey?"...for something that I actually consider to be a fairly serious subject.

So, yeah, sorry for not going the typical route when it comes to this kind of thing. I hope you like Chelsea though and thanks for reading my ramblings here. :)

Chelsea and artwork copyright SatsumaLord