Finding a cure now...so our daughters won't have to.

Author Archive

PBCC Annual Conference Travel Grants

Posted By on May 12th, 2010 at 11:21 am | 0 comments.

Each October, the PBCC puts on a breast cancer conference in Harrisburg.  Approximately 700 people attend – survivors, co-survivors, medical professionals, legislators, business leaders and breast cancer advocates of all types.  If you’ve never attended, you’re really missing something special, in my opinion.  The staff of the PBCC works almost year-round on this event, planning the workshops, lining up the speakers, designing the print materials, signing up the exhibitors, deciding on the food, registering the attendees…the tasks go on and on.

One of my favorite conference jobs is working on the Cary Massa Memorial Scholarships and Travel Grants.  The PBCC offers a limited number of travel grants, as well as full and partial scholarships for the conference.  Full scholarships cover the entire registration fee.  Partial scholarships cover all but $25 of the registration fee.  And the highly-desired travel grants cover the full conference registration cost, one standard guest room at the Harrisburg Hilton the night before the conference, and  reimbursement for documented travel expenses (not to exceed $100 total).  Click here to see more details and to download a scholarship or travel grant application.  

We encourage anyone who needs assistance in paying for attendance to the conference to apply, although priority is given to breast cancer survivors.

If you’d like to contribute to this fund which helps women attend this educational and uplifting event, click here.  And thank you!

Chip in for a Cure!

Posted By on April 29th, 2010 at 3:57 pm | 2 comments.

No, you’re not seeing things….those bags of Martin’s Kettle Cook’d-Chips really are pink!  And the sale of those bags of chips in stores all across Pennsylvania benefits the PBCC!  Martin’s Potato Chips partnered with us back in October to sell specially-designed bags of their most popular chips and they were a huge hit!  Amazingly, Martin’s was able to donate over $23,000 to the PBCC last fall and hopes to do the same this May.

So, visit your local grocery store before May 8th, find the 9 oz. bag of Martin’s Kettle-Cook’d chips with the pink ribbon on it, and put one or more in your shopping cart.  The PBCC will receive 25 cents from each purchase.

Please visit the Martin’s website for more info. 

Looking for a support group? Look no further!

Posted By on April 27th, 2010 at 11:00 am | 0 comments.

Have you recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and are looking for a support group?  Do you need to talk to others who have been where you are?  Is someone you love in this situation?  Are you at a loss for where to find groups in your area?  Well, the PBCC has the answer!

We have compiled a list of over 100 support groups across Pennsylvania, listing the group name, location, meeting days and times, and facilitators’ information if known.  Most of the groups are specifically for breast cancer support, but some are for anyone dealing with any type of cancer.  Some are geared toward a specific population such as African-American women, Latinas, young women, or those dealing with Stage IV or metastatic cancer.  Some groups focus on a specific facet of recovery such as exercise or spirituality.  Many are open to family members and loved ones.  Some meet in hospitals, some in women’s homes, and others in community centers or restaurants.  Many provide refreshments.  All are free of charge.  Check the notes for specifics on the particular group you are interested in.

We recommend you call the number on the listing to verify the group’s information.  Support groups sometimes change their meeting days or times without our knowledge so please call the facilitators before you decide to attend a meeting!

Finally, if you are a breast cancer (or general cancer) support group facilitator, or even just a regular attendee of one of these groups, we need your help!  Please visit our website and see if your group is listed.  If it is, do we have all the details correct?  If you see errors or if you know of a group not on our list, please email Kim at kim@pabreastcancer.org with the details and we’ll add them right away.

There’s Good Inside Us All!

Posted By on April 9th, 2010 at 8:58 am | 0 comments.

The PBCC doesn’t spend a lot on advertising. We just don’t feel that’s a good use of our donor dollars. We’d rather use your hard-earned money to increase awareness and to provide direct services for survivors. But you can be a walking billboard for the PBCC and breast cancer awareness by purchasing one of these t-shirts designed by Greater Than Goods!

Greater Than Goods is a company that believes “there’s good inside us all.” They partner with non-profit organizations, including the PBCC, to create cause-related shirts. Then they share the proceeds with those organizations to work toward recovery, to help find cures, to provide hope. For each $20 PBCC shirt purchased, they donate $5 to our organization.

The PBCC shirts sport a hand-drawn design on the front that is an artistic representation of intertwining DNA, the mother/daughter bond, the past and the future. Click here to purchase either the ladies’ fitted raspberry shirt or the men’s gray shirt. And thanks for helping spread the word!

We Get By With A Little Help From Our Friends

Posted By on April 7th, 2010 at 10:46 am | 0 comments.

“It made me feel good to know that there are others out there just like me. I’m not alone.”

“It was profoundly heartening and I cried when I opened this knowing that others cared.”

“I felt that I wasn’t alone in this frightful journey and it gave me comfort and hope to know that others care.”

What are all these women raving about? The PBCC’s Friends Like Me care package, that’s what! Every week we send about a dozen Friends Like Me care packages to women who live in Pennsylvania and have been recently diagnosed with breast cancer. (Click here to request one for yourself or someone you know.) The package is filled to the brim with important information about breast cancer surgery and treatment.

We know the women who receive these care packages appreciate the educational stuff. They tell us so in every survey they send back. But my heart tells me that the best parts of the care package, the things that make these women feel like they are not alone, are the “soft touches”…the hand-knit scarves and chemo caps, the sweet construction paper “thinking of you” cards crafted by children, the paper clip angel ornaments made by Girl Scouts, the pink pins to wear proudly as a symbol of strength. These are the things that warm the hearts of the women who receive a care package. And these are the things the PBCC relies on you to donate!

Are you crafty like Kathleen Markley and Pauline Kring? Please consider knitting or crocheting some pink scarves or making needlepoint bookmarks. Do you sell Avon, Mary Kay or Longaberger like Rosanne Bair and Agnes White? Why not donate some samples of lotions, make-up or other small items? Do you own or frequent a gift shop or other business like Patty Platts and Mia Morrison? Perhaps you could send us small “feel-good” items that the store has on hand! (Click here to see a list of some recent donors and what they gave.)

The possibilities are endless, the benefits, immeasurable. And the ripples of your kindness will linger long after that pink box has been emptied and tossed in the trash.

Find a Cure: One Bangle at a Time

Posted By on April 2nd, 2010 at 9:36 am | 0 comments.

Pennsylvania jewelry designer, Riz Soulliard, designed these bangles when her own mother got the news that she too, like many others, had breast cancer. Riz made them for women of all ages who would like to wear these beautiful bangles to show support and contribute to the mission to end breast cancer. Pretty pink ribbons that unite women all over the world boldly stand out on two white bangles and a beautiful solid pink bangle separates the two.

Wear them in the hope that someday we will find a cure. Click here to buy these bangles from her website.  50% of the proceeds from the sale of these bangles will go directly to the PBCC.

One Person Really Can Make A Difference

Posted By on March 26th, 2010 at 11:54 am | 2 comments.

We say it all the time, that one person really can make a difference.  But this week, Freda Brown at Johnson Controls in York proved it!  She organized a “Go Pink” day to raise money for two teams of hitters at this year’s Home Run Derby.

Heather and I were there for the kick-off…pink balloons, pink food, pink lemonade, pink shirts, pink roses!  We set up our traveling road show, as we like to call it, to raise interest among employees and funds.  For two hours, Freda spoke to each person who walked by (there was no escaping her!), explaining what we were doing there, encouraging them to buy a shirt or make a donation, and try to win the beautiful rose bouquet.

Her ability to talk to people and get them to open their wallets with a smile was astounding.  I heard many people say, “OK, because it’s you asking, Freda!”  Remarkably, she was able to collect over $550 in two hours, with very little effort!  And it struck me how easily her method might translate to any other large company looking to raise funds for a Home Run Derby team.

If you are someone like Freda, someone who “could sell screen doors in a submarine”, then why not try this at your job?  We’d be happy to come to your place of employment and help you sell shirts and collect donations.  In just a few hours, you might easily be able to raise the $500 fee for a Home Run Derby team!  Then you could organize a cheering section and cheer on your team’s hitters in July!

Thank you, Freda!  You proved to me this week that one person really can make a difference.

Call For Workshop Topics

Posted By on March 1st, 2010 at 3:19 pm | 2 comments.

I realize that October seems a long way off, but here in the PBCC office, we are already hard at work planning the 2010 Annual Conference!  This year’s conference will be held on Wednesday, October 13th at the Harrisburg Hilton. 

One of the first orders of business is to figure out what workshops we are going to offer.  We do have some ideas, but we are putting out a call for submissions.  If you have presented a workshop in the past or know someone who has presented one that you think would be appropriate for our event, please let us know.  We are looking for workshops that fit into the following tracks:

Leadership, Advocacy & Education
Advances in Treatment
Research and Clinical Trials
Breast Cancer Survivorship
The Mind/Body Connection
Caring for the Caregiver

Of course, you’re not limited to these tracks; they are simply suggestions.  The sky is the limit so be creative!   Workshops are one hour long.  The deadline for proposals is Friday, March 12th at 4pm.  Head to the PBCC Annual Conference website for more details about what your proposal should include and other important information!

One last important note.  Please make sure that the suggested presenter is available to present at our conference on October 13, 2010, before you submit your proposal.  The PBCC applies for continuing education credits for the workshops and cannot replace presenters once workshops are confirmed.

Thanks for your input and we look forward to reading your proposals!