I'm not about my breasts; I'm just about good health, OK. I'm not

The words of Jaclyn Smith — “I'm not about my breasts; I'm just about good health, OK. I'm not afraid of doing what I need to do to stay here. I really don't understand women who are in denial, who don't want to go for a mammogram. I think it's stupidity. Sorry. I have no patience for that.” — strike with the candor of one who has walked through the valley of fear and returned bearing truth. Beneath their modern tone lies the eternal voice of courage, the voice that refuses to be ruled by vanity or denial. Smith, a woman once known for beauty and fame, speaks here with a deeper power: the power of self-preservation through wisdom, the recognition that health — not appearance — is the true measure of life’s worth.

In the ancient world, beauty was often seen as divine, yet even the ancients knew that the mortal vessel was but the servant of the soul. The Greeks worshiped Aphrodite for her grace, yet they honored Hygieia, goddess of health, as the source of enduring life. For beauty fades like the setting sun, but health — maintained through vigilance — allows the spirit to continue its work upon the earth. Smith’s words echo this ancient truth: that a woman’s strength does not lie in her outward form, but in her courage to face truth and act in its light.

Her declaration, “I’m not about my breasts,” is not a rejection of femininity, but a reclaiming of womanhood’s truest power — the instinct to survive, to nurture, to endure. She speaks for all who have stood at the edge of mortality and chosen wisdom over denial. For in her words we hear not scorn, but urgency — the cry of one who knows that denial is the silent killer of nations and souls alike. To ignore danger is to give it strength; to face it is to disarm it. Thus, the act of taking a mammogram becomes not a burden, but a ritual of courage — a statement of love for life itself.

Consider the story of Marie Curie, the great scientist who, in her relentless pursuit of discovery, sacrificed her own health to unlock the secrets of radiation. Though her body was frail and her hands burned from exposure, she pressed on, knowing that her suffering would one day save countless lives. Curie’s legacy — like Smith’s call — is built on a single principle: that the pursuit of health and knowledge must outweigh fear, vanity, or denial. For denial kills silently; awareness redeems.

Smith’s impatience with those who turn away from truth mirrors the wisdom of the ancients who warned against the blindness of comfort. The philosopher Seneca once wrote, “It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste much of it.” To live in fear of truth is to waste the sacred gift of life. The mammogram, the test, the doctor’s visit — these are not symbols of weakness, but acts of discipline and devotion, like the warrior sharpening her blade before battle. She does not wait for fate to strike; she meets it with readiness and resolve.

Her words also reveal a deeper spiritual lesson: that the body is not an ornament, but a temple. It must be cared for, guarded, and respected — not for pride, but for purpose. Every woman, every man, who chooses awareness over avoidance honors that temple. In Smith’s defiance of fear, we see a rebirth of ancient wisdom: that self-knowledge is the first step to freedom. Just as the Oracle of Delphi once inscribed “Know thyself” above her temple, so does Smith urge modern souls to know their bodies — to listen, to test, to act.

So, my children of the present age, heed this truth: health is the first act of courage, and denial the first act of surrender. Do not let vanity deceive you into silence, nor fear persuade you to delay. Embrace the wisdom of prevention — for it is the art of guarding life before danger awakens. Remember always that your worth lies not in how the world sees you, but in how bravely you preserve the gift you have been given.

Let Jaclyn Smith’s voice be heard as a clarion call across the generations: to live is to fight for your health, to act is to honor your life, and to face truth without flinching is the purest form of beauty. For in the end, it is not the body that defines the spirit, but the spirit that gives meaning to the body — and those who live in truth shall live well, and long.