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Archive for the ‘Programs’ Category

We Love Thank You Notes!

Posted By on November 17th, 2010 at 8:48 am | 0 comments.

The 2010 PBCC Annual Conference is history!  But thank you notes and emails are still coming into the PBCC office.   Many of these are from women and men all across the state who were given financial assistance to attend the conference in Harrisburg on October 13th.   The PBCC offers various levels of grants and scholarships to applicants who otherwise would not be able to attend this inspirational and educational event.
This year, through the generosity of donors to the Cary Massa Memorial Scholarship Fund, the PBCC was able to provide assistance to 35 women and men all across the state and beyond – a record number!

One scholarship recipient wrote:

To all who donate to the Cary Massa Memorial Scholarship Fund,
The very thought of cancer leaves one in a state of fear. You get so lost in deep concerns and issues faster than you can take a breath to consume the news. You begin to lay your options out to try to cope. People like yourself come into your life. Caring, unknown strangers opening their hearts and offering the help we so desperately need…knowledge, hope, facts, and most of all choices. Thanks to you, I will have this helpful information offered to me. I am extremely grateful for that. Without your help I would not have been able to attend.

Patty
Erie, PA

Another said:

Please extend my sincere thank you to the friends and family of Cary for the gift. The scholarship represents a very fitting way to honor a dear friend and volunteer to the PBCC. What a lovely way for Cary to be a woman who continues to help other women breast cancer patients/survivors.

Cora Lee
State College, PA

And a nursing professor at Towson University, 9 of whose students received scholarships, wrote:

Please accept my heartfelt thanks for providing scholarships for my Towson University nursing students. They were totally impressed with the event, collegiality, networking and opportunities to learn more about breast cancer. It was indeed a class act of a professional conference, as I also gained much needed valuable information and knowledge as an educator.

Janet
Hagerstown, MD

Please consider contributing to the scholarship fund to help women and men attend future PBCC conferences.  We cannot do this work without your support.  The PBCC and all the recipients thank you!

2010 Annual Conference Highlights

Posted By on November 5th, 2010 at 11:18 am | 10 comments.

2010 Annual ConferenceThanks to everyone who spent Wednesday, October 13th with us at the Harrisburg Hilton!  It was a day full of learning, support, and friends!  Be sure to check out all of the photos from the day on our Flickr page!

Many attendees have asked about downloading a copy of certain presentations because they were full of such great content.  Or because you didn’t get a chance to check out all of the workshops available.

Below, we have PDF copies of handouts from the workshops.  *Please note: These presentations are the work of and owned by the presenters from the 2010 Annual Conference.  Users may only have copies of the presentations for personal use.*  To view/download the slides, you will need Adobe Acrobat.

Newsletter Returns (i.e. Job Security)

Posted By on August 26th, 2010 at 9:45 am | 0 comments.

While many of the PBCC staff were traveling across the state in July, running our 11 Home Run Derby fundraisers and trying to stay cool, I was sitting at my desk with a huge pile of FrontLine newsletter returns staring at me.

The main part of my job entails keeping our database of over 78,000 constituents up-to-date.  Every time we send out a mailing to these constituents, we receive hundreds of returns and notifications of forwards from the post office.  I then have to update every one of those records in our database so the next time we send a mailing, it will go to the correct place!  Many times, people move without a forwarding address.  (Why?  I don’t understand that!  Don’t you want to get your mail at your new home?)  When that happens, I have to remove those people from our list so we don’t continue to mail to someone who’s no longer at that address.  It’s tedious work and takes me days and days each time we do a large mailing, which happens at least quarterly.  But I really don’t mind!

Don’t get me wrong, I do get bored after a while and have to get up from my desk, grab a cup of coffee, work on a different task.  But I eventually get through the pile.  And the feeling I get when that’s done is amazing.  I enjoy knowing that our large database is as accurate as it can possibly be.  I enjoy completing a task that seems insurmountable at the beginning.  I enjoy the details, the names, the addresses.  I enjoy making things right.

My co-workers often tell me, “I do not want your job!”  So I guess that means doing the tedious, boring stuff brings me job security.  Well, you know what?  I’ll take it!  And I’ll smile all the way through…until September when the next FrontLine newsletter goes out.

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.

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.