By Bethany Zell
Pink Aroostook coordinator
CARIBOU — People who know my involvement with Pink Aroostook often wonder if I am a survivor of breast cancer myself. I always use that opportunity to tell them why I do what I do.
About six years ago, while I was living in Chattanooga, Tenn., my best friend, Wanda, was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was only 39 years old and had to undergo a radical double mastectomy and chemotherapy treatments followed by years of treatments with a drug called Herceptin. She was single, lived alone and had no family living nearby. I was able to be her family during that time and what I saw changed my life forever.
My heart broke for her and what she had to go through. Cancer is an ugly disease and it is indiscriminate … it doesn’t care if you have insurance, if your income is the only one you have to pay the bills, or if you’re 5 or 65. After being by her side throughout her surgeries and treatments, she and I rejoiced together as she was declared to have “no evidence of cancer.”
To raise awareness about the “Pink Aroostook” project and their Breast Cancer Support Group, members have participated in local parades throughout the central Aroostook County. Riding on or walking behind their “Pink Aroostook Survivors” Float, they have handed out breast health informational material to parade watchers at the Maine Potato Blossom Festival in Fort Fairfield and at Caribou Cares About Kids. Here, taking a moment before joining their fellow support group members on the float in 2012, with their pink hats and survivor island theme attire are members, from left, Anne Carter; Pink Aroostook Project coordinator Bethany Zell, and Robin Fowler.
When I moved back to my hometown of Caribou in 2010, I was a stay-at-home mom and content to remain that way. One day, while reading through the Aroostook Republican, a job posting literally jumped off the page at me. Cary Medical Center was advertising for a part-time breast health advocate. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that this position was in that newspaper just for me, so I applied, interviewed and was hired.
Since the day that I began what I consider to be my heart’s work. Pink Aroostook has lost a grant, been denied a grant, and had funds raised for us by local groups who stepped up without even being asked. Despite the ups and downs of finances, this project is still “my baby” and I will continue to fight for it to survive.
The Pink Aroostook breast cancer support group has nine regular attendees. Whenever I spend time with these women, I am blessed and humbled by their strength and the love that they have for one another. I am so very grateful to be welcomed among them even though I am not a “survivor” myself.
Without any consistent funding, the support group has survived and thrived. Last fall, seven of us took a trip to Bar Harbor together to attend the American Cancer Society’s “Living with Cancer” conference and while we were there, five of the survivors in the Pink Aroostook support group became trained as Reach to Recovery volunteers, and I became the Reach to Recovery Coordinator for Aroostook County.
When a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, they can request a Reach to Recovery volunteer to connect with for one-on-one support.
We have continued to distribute Pink Aroostook “Survivor Bags” to every person that I encounter with a breast cancer diagnosis, whether they are in treatment, cancer free, or are 15 years out from their breast cancer diagnosis. The Pink Aroostook Facebook page is alive and well and I constantly update it with breast health tips and breast cancer information.
I had the honor of being selected to attend the 2013 Inaugural Advocate Leadership Summit of the National Breast Cancer Coalition in Washington, D.C. There I learned everything from new statistics on breast cancer research to a comprehensive overview of the status quo of breast cancer incidence and treatment; from discussions on how we can change the conversation to END breast cancer to the impact of over-diagnosis and over-treatment of breast cancer; and from learning how to mobilize our grassroots efforts at a local level to the politics that are vital to the end of this disease. It isn’t just about pink ribbons and awareness.
In 1991, in the United States 119 women died of breast cancer every day. More than 20 years and billions of research dollars later, that number is 108. That’s one death — one mother, grandmother, aunt, sister, brother, daughter — every 14 minutes. This year nearly 40,000 women and roughly 400 men will die of breast cancer in this country alone. Worldwide, that figure is more than 10 times that amount.
This is why I do what I do … this and the nine beautiful Pink Aroostook Survivors that I have the joy of meeting with on the first and third Thursday of every month. We have room for more. We hope and pray that there will come a time when there is no more breast cancer, and when there will no longer be anyone affected by this horrible disease. In the meantime, we are here to support, assist and care for each and every one, and provide them with resources to help them become a SURVIVOR.
If you or anyone that you know is in need of support relating to breast cancer, or want information on breast health, please tell them to visit www.pinkaroostook.org, find Pink Aroostook on Facebook, or call me at 207-551-4284. I am here to help in any way that I am able.
