A generation has passed since cancer sucked the life out of my world. January 7, 1993. To borrow from The Temptations: “that day I’ll always remember, yes I will. ‘Cause that was the day my mama died.” Not a day goes by that I don’t think about my mom and dad. One morning my daddy took me to Sunday school, went home and had a massive heart attack while preparing for church. That night he was gone. My mom died eight years after her breast cancer diagnosis.  Some days it seems like forever ago. Others, just like yesterday, I think about her “motherisms,” wonder how they would react to things happening in the world today, but more often than not, I just miss them, especially my mom.

But as much as cancer sucks, what sucks even more is to do nothing to stop this awful disease—especially the cancer that so strongly affects my family.

I know that whenever that day comes to meet my mom and dad on the other side of the Pearly Gates (and yes, despite what you may hear on the air, I will make it there), there will be questions. My mother will surely have questions and observations about the way I have lived my life. Why haven’t I gotten married yet? After all, my mom had a permanent seat on the
“Marry-Go-Round.” But one question she won’t have to ask is, what have you done to fight breast cancer?

I love my association with Komen for the Cure as a Circle of Promise Ambassador.  It’s my responsibility, one of my purposes in life to  participate in fundraising walks, sponsor fundraising runs, share my story, talk, listen and talk some more to women and men of color.  As a rule, we don’t get cancer more often, but often it is more virulent. Check out the studies and cases of women affected by Triple Negative Breast Cancer.

If you want to make a difference, there are two things you can do today.
The first is, if you have not already, TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR HEALTH and BE BREAST SELF AWARE.

Secondly, if you want to help Susan G. Komen continue the work they are doing, you can donate to help fund research for Triple Negative Breast Cancer or other national programs for education and outreach for African Americans. Check out the link here.

My fervent prayer is that one day I’ll be a minority as the child of a breast cancer patient/survivor. That a son or daughter won’t sit in a doctor’s office, as I once did, hearing biopsy results, with the words screaming in my head, “MY MOTHER HAS BREAST CANCER! MY MOM HAS CANCER! MY MOM….!” One day, the dates we’ll always remember won’t be the day your mama died, from breast cancer.

So, with my mom, I sat on the living room floor and went through “Great Negroes: Past and Present.”  There were well over 100 Great Negroes. And this was just Volume One–a very long, long, long time ago. There were so many Great Negroes! From Mary Mc Leod Bethune to Alexandre Dumas.  The story that caught my eye was that of Gordon Parks. As his autobiography, “The Learning Tree,” indicated, his story was no where similar to my upbringing, but his love of photography is what grabbed my attention.  He loved taking pictures just like I did.  The only difference was, my “photographs” came from a Brownie camera. Mr. Parks’ photos were a bit more advanced.  “American Gothic” is a classic. But the connection was made.  Although I never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Parks, I have remained a fan of all his endeavors—from his autobiography, to his photography to his work behind a movie camera as a director of films like “The Learning Tree” to the original “Shaft” and others.

First of all, kudos to the Rev. Al Sharpton and his National Action Network for working with other organizations to put the “Reclaim the Dream” event together. If, on the 47th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, the original location was not available, no problem. Rev. Al and others kept it moving and chose another location. In this case, the march began with speeches at the district’s Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. The destination of the march was the construction site of the memorial honoring Dr. King on the National Mall.

The organizations represented included the National Action Network, the NAACP, the National Urban League, labor and education groups, black farmers and media. Speeches were given, memories shared and promises made.

The week before last, my cousin, Joe, and his wife, Theresa, rushed from their Atlanta, Georgia home to scoop up their daughters, students at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. Then last week, new devastation arrived in the wake of more tornadoes in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Virginia.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of homes have been lost. One morning, people kissed their loved ones, walked out of their houses, locked their doors and drove off to work or school. That afternoon, they rushed back to find … a pile of debris where their homes once stood. And their relatives? Fortunately, many were able to find and reconnect with mothers, fathers, children, brothers and sisters. Others were not so lucky. Even those who were together during the storms found themselves ripped out of each other’s arms.

One mother and father were with their seven-week-old infant. The father was severely injured, but had the presence of mind to hand his child over to someone before he collapsed. The mother, a new mom – a woman who only held her child in her arms for about 50 days – did not survive.

Monday, I visited a town outside of Birmingham with the lovely name of Pleasant Grove. It certainly lives up to its name until you get to what can only be described as a DMZ – a demilitarized zone.

Here’s the thing: I am fortunate enough to work on a nationally syndicated radio show for four hours a day, five days a week. If I can’t give my thoughts and opinions during that time, I’m not doing my job. But some folks have been “conversating” about Why Sybil Doesn’t Blog More Often.

Suggestions have been made how to make this task easier for me. The latest was most generous: Let’s have Sybil talk with another friend on the regular after the radio show. We could make notes during the convo and print it in blog form. As generous as that is, after four or five hours in a studio, as my co-workers and friends will tell you, more often than not, I’m all talked out.

“Live with Regis and Kelly” has a contest looking for the Women of Radio to spend a day as co-host with Regis Philbin for a day. But in order to make this happen, I NEED YOU! To borrow from one of J’s favorite childhood impersonations as LBJ – “I come to you tonight with a heavy heart …” – I come to you today with a light heart to ask for your votes. Each day, until July 16th, please go to the “Live with Regis and Kelly” Web site, http://www.LivewithRegisandKelly.com, to nominate/vote for me to join Reege for one day in August.

Why do I want to do this? I hadn’t given it a thought until my colleague, Jawn Murray, brought the contest to my attention. Now that my name has been tossed into the Internet hat, I’m going back to my Chicago roots and asking you to VOTE EARLY and VOTE OFTEN at http://www.LivewithRegisandKelly.com. A day on one of the nation’s most popular talk shows would give it a decided boost of flavor and introduce some of the audience members to the best show on radio, “The Tom Joyner Morning Show.”

So, to answer my own question, no. But I am back on the program. I’m making better food choices and getting some exercise in each day. I had a small lightbulb moment last week. Not a major epiphany, but a realization that could make a big difference. One of the birthday highlights was the spa weekend, thanks to my BFF. It was both relaxing and invigorating. The sauna, steam and massage routine gave me time to think about my plans for the next year. At the top of my list is to continue to get healthier.

How about you? Are you struggling as well? I think I did okay on the cruise, but not great. While I did not walk on the track everyday, when time permitted, I did walk up and down the stairs. The food was very good, but I did exercise portion control. My biggest challenge is eating enough throughout the day. I must admit: Some nights when I think it’s too late to really eat, but I need something, I will resort to a couple of olives and a handful of almonds — no martini, thank you very much.

From now until whenever, we are working to “get our sexy back.” Thousands have already joined Team Sybil. We all know that Tom Joyner has been on a program — probably since the day he met Donna — but others are on Team Sybil.

Shout out to our boss, Oscar Joyner. You know we can’t do shout-outs on the radio show; we can do it in the blog. Oscar and others, like Affiliate Marketing maven Arika Cason, have joined Team Sybil. Obviously, they are not eligible to win a cabin on the Tom Joyner Foundation Fantastic Voyage, but you are. If you have already joined Team Sybil by texting your email address to Tom at 646464, encourage others to do the same. As I’ve said before: Join, Lose, Win!

Last week, J.B. called into the TJMS to talk about his affiliation with AARP, and during the conversation, he said he wanted to join Team Sybil in the State Farm 50 Million Pound Challenge. We weren’t even off the air when J.B.’s people called to make his membership official. The CBS Football guru is not only a full-fledged member of Team Sybil; he’s also officially entered to win a cabin on the Tom Joyner Foundation’s Fantastic Voyage! J.B. is ready to get his “sexy back” as well as “party with a purpose” on the high seas!

Tomorrow is the deadline for joining Team Sybil in order to be eligible to win one of four cabins when the Fantastic Voyage sails away in less than six weeks! Before it’s too late, Text Tom your email address to 646464 (“OHOHOH”), and you are so in the contest.