Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – Since October is both National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and National Physical Therapy Month, Jennifer Waddell, physical therapist and certified lymphedema therapist at County Physical Therapy, knew she wanted to do something special for her patients. So she created a wall to honor the memory of those who have succumbed to breast cancer, and at the same time celebrate the courage of those who are facing the illness today.
The wall features pink ribbons with the names of people who either had or have breast cancer, as well as photographs of six cancer rehabilitation patients from County Physical Therapy with the message, “To be well is to be cured. To be whole is to be healed.”
“One of the employees here is a photographer, and I said, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to take some pictures of these women just showing them as grandmothers, with their kids, or with some of the support people who are in their lives who have also been affected by breast cancer?’” said Waddell. “Some of my patients agreed to do it and we went for our photo shoot. The photos are black and white, but the pink that they were wearing has been brought out since pink is the color associated with breast cancer.”
The words friend, wife, grandmother, daughter, sister and mom – all roles women play – are also on the wall.
“I wanted to fill a wall honoring the memory of some women, as well as to recognize the courage that they have going through this and how they still function as mom and grandmother and wife,” said Waddell. “I know that breast cancer is not just a woman’s disease, but the prevalence is with women and I haven’t treated a male population here at our clinic … that’s why only women are depicted on the wall. Certainly we would welcome names of anyone who has gone through breast cancer.”
Anyone wishing to write a loved ones’ name on a ribbon is encouraged to do so. The wall will remain up through the end of the month. As a way to encourage people to participate, custom jewelry designed by Kim Kennedy, former owner of the Silver Basket, will be raffled off. There is no charge or donation needed to place a ribbon on the wall.
Waddell has been providing cancer rehabilitation services at County Physical Therapy for the last two years.
“When we think about why people come to physical therapy, most people come because they have pain, they’ve had surgery, or they’ve lost motion or strength. Usually it’s an injury they have had or due to arthritis,” she said. “With people who have had cancer surgeries, not only have they had the surgery, but they’ve had chemotherapy which has tremendous side effects including pain, osteoporosis, fatigue, weight gain, and with radiation, there’s tightening that happens so people lose motion and strength, they can develop swelling and these are all the same side effects that people can have from arthritis.
“So many people are living with cancer and there’s longer survival rates but that’s because the treatments are becoming so aggressive,” said Waddell. “There may be some late-term effects down the road that are a result of the treatments that they’ve had and we can help with that. Getting engaged in a program like this during your treatments oftentimes make them more tolerable.”
The goal of the cancer rehabilitation program is to improve patients’ quality of life and to return them to their previous level of function.
“It also provides patients with the opportunity to have some control over their care and to engage in a program that makes them feel better,” said Waddell. “We don’t just see breast cancer patients here. We’re spotlighting that because it’s National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but the cancer rehab program is open to all cancers.”
Susan Fuller of Washburn is one of the women featured on the wall.
“I love it,” she said. “I think Jen did a great job. The wall really brings out the fact that every woman who has breast cancer is so many different things to so many different people … she is the friend, the grandmother, the sister, the wife, the daughter and the mother. That point really comes across with the wall.”
Fuller was diagnosed with breast cancer 18 months ago.
“My treatment consisted of surgery, followed by chemotherapy, followed by radiation,” she said. “Now I take a hormone pill every day, and everything is going very well.”
One of Waddell’s cancer rehabilitation patients, Fuller started seeing her during her radiation treatments.
“I wish I had started seeing her earlier because I can see how it would have been tremendously helpful to me,” said Fuller. “It was without a doubt the most positive step in all of my recovery … coming to see Jen. I recommend it to any woman the minute she gets diagnosed with breast cancer.
“The biggest thing was that it treated me and helped me toward wellness again. It gave me something positive that I could do and know that I was going to feel better by doing it,” she said. “I got some control back; you have very little control when you’re a patient of any kind of cancer. You do exactly what they tell you, when they tell you. With the cancer rehabilitation, I had to put my own energy into it and I could see that it was going to make me feel better by doing so. It was the most important part of my whole therapy.”
Waddell encourages people to stop in and look at the wall.
“I hope people will check it out, fill out a ribbon in honor or in memory of someone they love whose been touched by breast cancer, and take some of the literature that we have,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if they’re a patient here or not. It’s not about us; it’s about people in Aroostook County who have been affected by the disease.”
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
IN RECOGNITION of October being National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and National Physical Therapy Month, a wall has been created at County Physical Therapy to honor the memory of those who have succumbed to breast cancer, and at the same time celebrate the courage of those who are facing the illness today. The wall features pink ribbons with the names of people who either had or have breast cancer, as well as photographs of six cancer rehabilitation patients from County Physical Therapy with the message, “To be well is to be cured. To be whole is to be healed.” Shown placing ribbons on the wall are, from left: Susan Fuller of Washburn, a cancer rehabilitation patient, and Jennifer Waddell, physical therapist and certified lymphedema therapist at County Physical Therapy. The wall will remain up through the month, and people are encouraged to stop by and fill out a ribbon.
