I’m not sure if it’s because I am getting older, but more and more I come across women who have had breast cancer, those who have thus far survived, those still fighting and also those who have passed away from it.

I ran across a picture on Facebook of Yulady, yogini with an incredible yoga practice, famous in the sense she has been filmed on DVDs with such noteworthy yoga superstars as Tara Stiles and Deepak Chopra and glorious in that she is a breast cancer survivor.

This image of her in hot pink undoubtedly shows her pride in her battle against breast cancer, loving unabashedly her nipple-less self, it is also a picture “dedicated to all of the cancer survivors, and the ones fighting the battle (and to my (her) hubby @geraldsaluti who is my (her) rock.”

With this being October, Breast Cancer Awareness month, and hearing of my friend who recently went in for her other breasts to be taken off, I felt compelled to search for yogini’s fighting the battle and ran across, with great honor, Yulady. She brings great inspiration, and is a beautiful representation, for women and their bodies after cancer.

Some of my Facebook friends are presently giving the good fight, or having survived but still living with the after care— the hormonal treatments that can be just as tough as chemo itself, and also the spirit of my dear childhood family friend (my Mom’s best friend while growing up) transitioned from this life last month from breast cancer.

We all handle our dance with illness and sickness differently. Some of us wear wigs, others sport the baldness, some have partial removal of the breasts and some have all taken away.

The willingness of this yogini  to bear all with such honor, is liberating not only to her, but also to us, as she poses with children, topless, in a home setting, as they hold “survivor,” banners before her.

Though it is more rare, men too can get breast cancer, only they tend to call it, “shoulder cancer,” because of its designation as being a “women’s cancer.” Breast cancer belongs to everyone, even though we know statistically the percentage is higher among women, men, too, have battled against it, and not just in support of their wives, but within their own bodies as well.

Praise to the pink, to Breast Cancer Awareness, to early detection, and also, Thanks to the men in football this season wearing pink  (I caught a glimpse  though I don’t watch football) Texas A & M was wearing pink on the field the other night in support of breast cancer awareness.

We’re all in it together fighting for the breasts and chests, for the people, the women and men, behind them.

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Ed: Sara Crolick

{photo: via Yulady; you can connect with her on instagram @yulady}