I Touch Myself

 

This video has been released on 21st April, on the first anniversary of the death of Australian, Chrissy Amphlett, lead singer of the Divinyls.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeaO2BrrIf8

It features well known Australian singers Olivia Newton John, Megan Washington, Sarah McLeod, Katie Noonan, Sarah Blasko, Suze DeMarchi, Deborah Conway, Kate Ceberano, Little Pattie and Connie Mitchell.  To be honest I hadn't heard of all of them (where was Kylie??) but hell, they all have great voices so who cares?  The video is simple, yet hauntingly sad, touching and beautifully shot.

Amphlett was a campaigner for womens' health issues and in particular, urged Australian women to 'touch themselves' - do self breast examinations - regularly - get to know your breasts and what is normal so you can spot abnormal or any changes - and don't take 'no' for an answer if you feel something is wrong.

Her story resonated with me because firstly I love that song, it is so sexy and womanly and cheeky from the great intro right to the last breathy spoken words.  I remember singing it out loudly back in the 90's.  Only a woman could sing this song (it would be really creepy hearing a man singing it, no?), it felt like a self affirming, sexy anthem for all sexually active women who weren't ashamed of it.  Here's the original version, just for pleasure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv-34w8kGPM

Secondly, I found the tumour that I had by 'touching myself' in the shower, where I did all my breast examination.  And a surgeon said that, despite its size, the tumour wasn't palpable or immediately obvious during examination.  He said I had 'le flair' - an instinct or feeling that all was not well.  My gyne had missed it months earlier during a breast examination.  So, I believe that self breast examination is crucial.

Thirdly, after watching the video of Amphlett on the clip below (which made me cry - watch it, it's feisty!) which was shot during the time when Amphlett had just discovered that she had breast cancer and followed her into hospital for the double mastectomy, I discovered that she had also dealt with another debilitating illness - MS - as if that was not enough.  She seems like a warm, funny, take no nonsense type of person and someone that everyone would like to know.  The cancer did not show up on scans or mammograms, but she pursued the doctors for a biopsy, insisting that she knew all was not well.  She was right.

She was 51years old when she had her operation, I was too.

She couldn't receive radiotherapy or chemotherapy because of her MS and she fought a long battle with breast cancer, eventually dying in 2013.

As she says, of 'I Touch Myself' - 'it really should be the breast cancer song' - well, love, now it is.  Thank you.

RIP Chrissy Amphlett 25/10/59 - 21/04/13

https://au.news.yahoo.com/sunday-night/features/article/-/22501836/why-sunday-night-wants-you-to-touch-yourself/