Erin Parrish: Story of Hope
Erin's story continues to resonate beyond her physical presence. Her legacy, rooted in educating on early detection of breast cancer, has inspired a few of her family members and friends to continue on her efforts of educating to save lives by becoming Certified Lemonistas. As we reflect on the impact she made, it becomes clear that Erin's influence endures through the shared commitment to education and empowerment. In this collective effort, we honor her memory and ensure that her voice remains a guiding force for generations to come. With permission from her family, we share with you her inspiring story of hope in the wishes that those reading it will find a sense of inspiration to help and educate on the importance of early detection of breast cancer in their communities.
On September 19, 2023, Erin Parrish posted a picture of her Know Your Lemons Certified Lemonista badge and said:
Caption to Instagram post: "It’s officially official! Your girl is a lemonista with @knowyourlemons! I may not be able to do physical classes right now, due to my new restraints, but I’m hoping that corrects itself soon! SBRT radiosurgery tomorrow and a 5-hour dose of chemo on Thursday - I’m gonna need all the prayers and thoughts you can cajole this week!
xxx, Erin 🍋
This is for @_nightbirde , Judi Thomas, @wandatakma , and @nicknacklou . My time here won’t be in vain, I promise you that."
Erin was living with stage 4 triple negative breast cancer during this time, and exactly 4 days later after she posted this, graduated this life. Little did she or her friends or family members know the significance of her last social media post. Not only did this encourage family and friends to become Certified Lemonistas. In her application to become a Certified Lemonista, Erin wrote,
“I want to learn more so I can teach others who are in the same boat as me. I have been a speech/language pathologist in a school for 12 years prior to my diagnosis, so I have my fair share of teaching experience throughout my life. And now that I am becoming more active on social media, I want to ensure that I am giving out all of the correct and important information!”
Erin’s Certified Lemonista certificate after completing the Know Your Lemons Certified Global Breast Health Educator Course.
Once completing the course and receiving her online certificate she posted:
"I am officially Know Your Lemons certified as an Educator! KYL is a breast cancer awareness and education hub that encourages self-exams, knowing the risk factors, and identifying any breast changes that may come up. KYL also has an app where Mona Lisa walks you through a self-exam, as well as a way to track it all, suitable for younger students too!
If you’re ever interested in taking a class presented by me, send me a message and I would LOVE to learn you a thing or two! 🩷🌸"
Erin’s social media post educating on the different types of breast lumps.
Erin was a fantastic online educator as she shared posts about what a cancerous lump can look and feel like:
"Lumps and bumps are very common in women, especially during menstruation. This is why it is so important to do self-exams - any time is fine really, but right after your period is preferred. What we are looking for are any breast changes (see my previous post about the different kinds of changes you may find). If you do this consistently, you will have a great baseline to determine your 'norm.' For men, obviously you don’t menstruate (lucky), so it might be easier for you to detect these changes due to lesser breast tissue and/or fluctuating hormones. However, still extremely important to take a few minutes each month to feel around. Young women should be introduced to the idea during puberty and practiced when their first period starts. The Mona Lisa Self-Exam tutorial on the @knowyourlemons app would be a fun way to demonstrate and practice the skill. Remember, early detection saves lives. 🙌🌈 . Many doctors may say that self-exams are pointless, but I found my lump from feeling my breasts, so I advocated for myself because that was abnormal for me. If you ever need a good push to talk to your doctor or bring it up with family members, let me know and I would be honored to coach you through the process. One message I want you to take away from this post is KNOW YOU FIRST. 🩷🌸"
Erin’s social media post educating on the different types of breast lumps.
And also posts about the importance of regular mammogram screenings:
"While the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has fluctuated with mammogram ages through the past decade (40 to 50 and back to 40), I think we are finally on our way to getting the word out that breast cancer diagnoses have been occurring younger and younger. This is why it’s important to do those monthly self-exams to determine any other symptoms, other than that telltale bump. In the next few weeks, be on the lookout for a fun demo, featuring yours truly! Know Your Lemons has a free app to help you self-exam and keep track of what you do or don’t feel. You really gotta check them out!
xxx, Erin 🍋
Source: www.knowyourlemons.org"
Erin found out about Know Your Lemons through her dear friend, Christina Miner. Once she heard about the program from Christina she shared this post of the 12 signs of breast cancer and said:
Know Your Lemons 12 signs of breast cancer image, represented by lemons.
"My dear friend, @christinaminer at @ourscarsspeak introduced me to this org i have to say I’m impressed! Not only is it awesome because lemons are kinda my thing,
When life hands you lemons, say f**k the lemons and bail 🍋✨
But also because this org uses lemons to help you identify signs and symptoms of breast cancer. Of course not everyone gets all or any of these of these indicators, but this is why I really encourage you to self-examine by feeling those lemons on the 1st of the month!
xxx, Erin 🍋 "
Christina Miner, one of Erin’s friends through a breast cancer support organization, has offered to share how much the global educator program meant to Erin, and how it fueled Erin's tenacity to educate about the importance of early detection.
“Hello, my name is Christina Miner. I am a Certified Lemonista based out of Virginia. I would like to share with you about the great impact my friend, Erin Parrish, had before passing away from metastatic breast cancer. Erin and I met through a breast cancer support organization called, "Here for the Girls" and we worked pretty close together as calendar ambassadors for 2023. From there, our relationship blossomed and grew. We started to get even closer right up until she passed, which was heartbreaking.
Erin had had breast cancer once before I met her, two years prior to 2023, and then it came back. It came back not too long after she had gotten married. She got diagnosed January 2023 with the news that the cancer had come back, stage 4 triple negative. She then passed away in September 2023. During that period of time and prior to that diagnosis, Erin was on fire with wanting people to really know their bodies, know how to do self-checks, know what changes are normal and not normal their bodies, and to be your best advocate. She really really pressed for people to speak up and to get second opinions if needed. She also talked about love, to love hard, and though it might be a hard battle, to also to have fun.
With that being said, Erin saw that I was going through the Know Your Lemons breast health educator certification program and she wanted to be a part of it. She thought it was fantastic, just like I did.
Erin was an artist and loved creativity. And so to see all the illustrations that Know Your Lemons provides to teach people simply how to take care of their breast health, she was like, "I want to be a part of that." So I showed her what she needed to do and she became a Certified Lemonista. About a week before she passed away, Erin was so on fire with teaching everyone she could about breast health. I remember one conversation that we had where she was like,
"Will, anyone listen if I did a blog or I did other things." I said, "Absolutely!"
By being a part of Know Your Lemons and being a part of some of the other organizations that she was in she found a voice where she could be heard, but it wasn't about her; it was about the safety and the well-being of the people taught.
This story is for everyone because everyone needs to know about breast health and breast care, but it's also in honor of my friend, Erin, because this is what she would want us to do. She would want us to love hard, support each other, and to share the knowledge that we have. So in honor of her, that's what I'm going to continue to do, and I hope you do the same. And if you're not a Certified Lemonista, I'm sure she would tell you to take the course and become one, and I'm going to tell you, please join us!
Thank you."
Apply to become a Certified Lemonista: https://www.knowyourlemons.org/lemonista
