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Genetic Breast Cancer Screening

In battling breast cancer, we take every edge we can get. That’s why the Margot Perot Center and the medical staff at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas are out in front in diagnosis and treatment. We’re the only hospital in DFW with Breast Cancer Risk Assessment (BCRA), an online tool that helps estimate your risk of developing breast cancer. We offer genetic screening and counseling at our Center for Cancer Risk Reduction and Genetics. We’re the rst hospital in North Texas offering Breast Tomosynthesis, 3-D imaging that can identify breast cancer in women with dense or brocystic breast tissue. Treatments range from advanced surgical techniques and reconstruction to radiation and chemotherapy. We do everything we can to give you an unfair advantage against breast cancer, like the BCRA. Take yours online today.

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When Apple’s Steve Jobs died last month, the accolades predictably poured in. Jobs was called “visionary,” “brilliant” and a “genius” by those who knew him as well as those who did not. His impact on our lives was debated and discussed, with the general consensus that without Jobs, our lives would be somewhat less than they are today.

Jobs was hailed as someone who truly made a difference in others’ lives, and in his case, he made a difference in so many peoples’ lives that it seemed to validate the idea that his was a life well-lived.

In a way, his life has become a kind of ideal, a measuring stick for the rest of us slogging along life’s pothole-filled highway.

In this same context, our youngest son has been completing college entrance applications, most of which require applicants to answer an essay question or two or three to demonstrate why he should be admitted to the school. What’s unspoken is that our son’s essay, test scores and recommendations will be measured and judged against all comers; some will win the golden key, many more will walk away with something other than what they wanted.

One of the essays our son wrote talked about his interest in “making his mark” in the world, his desire to become wellknown and well-respected for accomplishing something with his life.

As I read his comments, and as I thought about Jobs’ life, I was struck with a deceptively simple thought: How much of a positive impact do we need to have on others so that we are judged to have “made our mark” and lived a worthwhile life?

Clearly, Jobs was a once-in-a-generation talent. His zeal for perfection and his sense of design made him and his products household names throughout the world. Meanwhile, our son is just getting started in the life-building business. He has desire, tools and personality, but what are the odds that when all is said and done, he or any of the rest of us, for that matter — will be judged equal to or greater than Steve Jobs? More to the point, how close do we have to come to that ideal — assuming Jobs and his life are ideals — to be judged “successful” when the final bell is rung?

At this point in his life, our son isn’t burdened much by comparisons or equivocations. His life is in front of him, and he has no reason to worry about limitations or road blocks or measuring up to anyone else.

In a way, Steve Jobs’ life has become a kind of measuring stick for the rest of us slogging along life’s pothole-filled highway.

The hyper-involved senior citizens we’ve written about in this month’s magazine are at the other end of that life scale — they’ve lived a good portion of their lives, and they’re still active, still involved and still impacting others. Collectively, they’re volunteering at a clip that belies their age and puts many of us to shame.

But there’s still that question nagging at me.

Do they, or do we, need to measure up to Jobs to be deemed “successful” when all is said and done?

It’s an interesting point to consider, when we run out of other things to worry about: In life, how much is enough?

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Fostering a better future

The first time Michelle Armour ever met a foster child, it was a dead one. “I did CPR on her. Right as the ambulance pulled up, she took her last breath. It was the worst day of my life.” On June 22, 2008, a speeding driver hit a curb, flew through the air and tore off the top of another car holding three girls (ages 10, 7 and 5) and their foster parents. They all died. Armour happened to be driving on the same road that day in Plano and tried to save the youngest of the girls who landed near her car. In the months following the accident, Armour testified in court against the other driver and learned more about the girls’ lives. They were with their sixth foster family in as many years. “I thought I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but it turns out I was in the right place at the right time,” Armour says. “I think God put me there to see it and do something about it. It opened up my eyes to foster children.” Earlier this year, the Preston Hollow resident and former Hockaday teacher founded her own nonprofit, Foster Kids Charity, which raises awareness and creates care packages for both local agencies and Child Protective Services resource rooms. “When they come in and take the kids, they give them a trash bag and say, ‘You have 15 minutes to grab your stuff.’ They might grab their pajamas, some shoes, maybe a toothbrush and a toy. We come in to fill the crack.” Foster Kids Charity accepts only new items. “These kids are abused, or most of them are abused, and we don’t want to give them abused stuff. They need to use this stuff for a long time.” Armour moved to America from Israel 10 years ago, having served in the Israeli Army. English is her second language, so learning how to establish a 501c3 proved challenging. “I stayed up until 2 a.m. reading about how to do all this stuff. Thank God for the internet.” But after witnessing the horrific accident three years ago, she knew she had to do something. “I couldn’t save them, but I feel I can put a smile on other children’s faces.”

—Emily Toman

Foster Kids Charity hosts a beneFit at 7 p.m. Nov. 12 at The Hall of State, 3939 Grand. The event includes live music, magician Eric Anderson and President Barack Obama impersonator Reggie Brown. Tickets are $85. To learn more or donate to the organization, visit fosterkidscharity.org.