The PBCC can be a resource for you, help you navigate your way through an insurance maze, or simply listen to your concerns. You are not alone.
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The PBCC is the source of action and information for women in Pennsylvania with breast cancer.
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There are many ways you can help the PA Breast Cancer Coalition. From our Home Run Derby, to volunteering at any number of events, there is something you can do.
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The PA Breast Cancer Coalition is a network of strength. Our strength comes in many forms.
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Here at the PBCC, we rely on donors every single day. You help us help women with breast cancer. It's that simple.
Learn MoreDuring the month of March, York Kia was honoring all of the women in our lives. They chose to donate $50 from each new car sold to the PBCC to raise awareness of breast cancer in the state. Thanks to the efforts of the entire staff, York Kia donated $2,000!! Thanks for sharing the importance of early detection and education!
By now, if you’re on our mailing list, you should have received the latest edition of FrontLine. The PBCC sends out this print newsletter every quarter to let you know what we’re up to across the state and how YOU can get involved!
Take a read through our online edition and share it with your friends!
When I was diagnosed with breast cancer I was a 40 year-old single mother of two, a 3 year-old and a 5 year-old. They were my touchstones. Every decision was based on what would give me a better chance to be here for them. My first baseline mammogram detected the breast cancer. I had a needle localization biopsy and was told that the margins from that procedure were adequate and I could proceed to radiation and tamoxifen. I wasn’t comfortable though and I went to Dr. Norman Wolmark for a 2nd opinion.
I had read that the risk of recurrence after a mastectomy was less than 1% as compared to 5% with a lumpectomy. One of the things I love best about Dr. Wolmark is that he never leaves the room until all your questions are answered. After discussing it with him, I decided to have a mastectomy. During that surgery, previously undetected cancer cells were found deeper in my breast. Listening to my own inner voice was the right thing to do.
I live 250 miles away from my closest family but my sister, sister-in-law and mother took turns coming to stay with me. A friend made a schedule for others in the community to drive me to appointments, cook meals, and do whatever I needed. I had purchased new wallpaper for my living room and when I came home from the hospital I found that they had put it up!
I’m private and hadn’t planned on sharing so publicly about having breast cancer. But after my surgery my 5 year-old daughter (who is now 14) touched my face. She said “I’m like you. Will I have breast cancer too?” That motivated me to support finding a cure. That, and the desire to pay back for all the help I received.
Merrilynn is Community Relations Director at Titusville Area Hospital and represents Crawford County in the PBCC traveling photo exhibit. She loves spending time with her children and running.
by Barbara Good, Ph.D.
Each year the journal CA, A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, provides an analysis of cancer statistics for all cancers. Breast cancer continues to be the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide. This initial report shows that the cancer burden continues to increase worldwide, attributable in part to the fact that people now live longer than in past generations.
In the US, cancer incidence has been stable for men and has been declining in women by 0.6% yearly since 1998.
In the United States for 2011, breast cancer accounts for about 30% of diagnosed cases and 15% of cancer deaths. Pennsylvania has one of the highest rates for both incidence and death from breast cancer in the US.
A follow-up report, issued later in the year, details statistics for the United States. For the complete US report, go to: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3322/caac.20121/pdf
Baseball season is knocking and Mother Nature thinks it’s June. The PBCC’s 5th annual Take a Swing Against Breast Cancer home run derby will be touring the state this July. Registration is open and YOU can make a difference by registering online today! NEW THIS YEAR: Teams and individuals can fundraise their donations from friends, family and co-workers ONLINE! Check out the NEW
PAHomeRunDerby.org! Start a team and ask your friends to join, create a special page on our website about why you are participating, solicit donations through Facebook, Twitter and email, and track your progress online.
We are also looking for a few good volunteers. If you and your co-workers, your children, or your neighbors would like to shag a few baseballs in the outfield, we can use your help! Volunteer registration is also available online.
Be sure to check out our July touring schedule and mark your calendars now! If you have any questions or need assistance through the registration process, call the batter’s box (ok, not really) but reach out to Kevin at Kevin@PABreastCancer.org or 800-377-8828 x109.
Did you know that FREE treatment is available for uninsured and underinsured women battling breast or cervical cancer here in Pennsylvania? The PBCC is working to spread the word on this important program to all by offering a FREE online course. Check out our video! Nurses and social workers who take the course can earn free credits. Take the course today!
Those who take the course will have the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of this important program, and how it serves as a lifeline for those who are uninsured and underinsured battling breast cancer. As part of the course, you can review real-life case studies and read inspiring stories from survivors who benefitted from the program.
If you have any questions or problems with the course, please contact Jen at Jennifer@pabreastcancer.org or 800-377-8828 x101. Please note that the course is not compatible with mobile devices.
Contributing to potentially groundbreaking research is as easy as checking a box on your PA state income tax form, thanks to the PBCC’s Refunds for Breast and Cervical Cancer Research program. Every penny raised goes to fund grants to researchers working right here in the state. Join us on April 2 at the Capitol in Harrisburg for a press conference to present 2012 awardee Dr. Allan Lipton with a grant for $50,000.
Dr. Andy Minn and Dr. Takemi Tanaka were each presented with $50,000 awards at an event in Philadelphia’s City Hall in February. Last October, Dr. Craig Meyers, a previous Refunds for Research award recipient, announced the discovery of a virus that kills breast cancer cells – a groundbreaking discovery that could bring us closer to a cure than ever before.
Over $2.8 million has been raised through the PBCC’s Refunds for Research program thanks to the generosity of Pennsylvania’s taxpayers. You CAN make a difference. Help us reach $3 million this year – look for line 35 on your PA state income tax form and donate all or part of your PA state income tax refund to the PBCC’s Refunds for Breast and Cervical Cancer Research.
I don’t need to tell you that the PA Breast Cancer Coalition is the only statewide nonprofit dedicated to finding a cure for breast cancer now. I don’t need to tell you that we hear from countless women daily about the effects of breast cancer. But I do need to tell you about our wonderful volunteers that make our work possible.
With such a large state to work in, we are tasked with what seems impossible with eight full-time employees. Volunteers make the mission of the PBCC achievable. In 2011, we had 302 individuals from all over PA give up their time for a greater good. Jobs included reviewing Refunds for Breast Cancer Research grant applications, presenting or moderating a workshop at our conference, staffing an information table at a health fair, speaking at a fundraiser, shagging baseballs at a Home Run Derby, assembling and customizing Friends Like Me Care Packages, and many more.
The only thing we can say (and we say it every day): thank you. Thank YOU for donating your valuable time to the mission of the PA Breast Cancer Coalition. In total, we had 1738.5 hours logged by volunteers across the state. That is OUTSTANDING! Volunteers saved the PBCC $37,134.36 in 2011! I don’t need to tell you that this is incredible!
Thanks to people like you, we are able to keep our doors open and serve the women and families of this great state! Stay tuned for opportunities to get involved at various events across Pennsylvania. If you don’t already receive our monthly e-newsletter Pink Link, sign up! And if you’re interested in volunteering, complete our interest survey and we’ll be in touch!
Here’s to 2012!
Are you a breast cancer survivor living in Pennsylvania with a story to share? The PBCC is seeking your survivor stories to possibly be featured in an upcoming Pink Link or Front Line. Those selected to be featured can choose from a complementary registration for the PBCC Conference in Harrisburg on October 9, 2012 OR a complementary single batter registration for a 2012 Home Run Derby event (for you to use or for you to give as a gift).
Please limit your story to between 300 and 350 words, and send a photo of yourself along with your submission in the event your story is chosen for publication. If your story is selected, you will be contacted to confirm your details and your choice of a prize. Email Amy at amy@pabreastcancer.org with your story.
Dawn Jones wrote down affirmations to heal herself after experiencing a particularly hurtful encounter on Fifth Avenue in New York. Dawn was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer and, after her mastectomy, doctors advised her to wait at least 12 months before having reconstruction. Bald, with a size 44D breast on one side and flat on the other side, she held her head high. But on this particular day she came face-to-face with cruelty.
She was strolling down the street reflecting on the lovely luncheon she had just had with other breast cancer survivors when her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of derisive comments. She was shocked to realize they were being directed at her, about her appearance. She felt like melting into the street. Her ears were red, her heart was pounding, but she refused to cry. Her affirmations and her beautiful spirit are reflected in the following poem “I Am” which has drawn over 11,000 “likes” on her Facebook public figure page “DawnInRealTime.”
“I AM” by Dawn P. Jones
I AM Loving
I AM Caring
I AM Compassion
I AM Truthful
I AM Strong
I AM Successful
I AM Wealthy
I AM Joyous
I AM Young
I AM Immortal
I AM Great Health
I AM Courageous
I AM Fearless
I AM Relentless
I AM Grounded
I AM Kind
I AM Forgiving
I AM not the scars you may see,
I AM not the Lymphedema swelling you may see,
I AM not the discolored skin you may see,
I AM not the pain and the nausea,
I AM not my hair,
I AM not cancer,
I AM a daughter, a mother, a sister, an auntie, a lover and a friend,
I AM LOVE,
And what I want you to see is,
I AM A WOMAN, and I AM BEAUTIFUL…….
DawnInRealTime includes a series of short videos chronicling her journey through treatment, and almost daily positive, uplifting messages like “I handle difficult situations with calm endurance” and “I am responsible for my own attitude.”
She was first diagnosed in 2000 and had a year of chemotherapy, a mastectomy, and reconstructive surgery 18 months later. Then 7 years later it returned, this time in her neck, lymphatic system, and chest and back. Doctors at the hospital in Queens where she was being treated said there was nothing else they could do for her. They did not expect her to survive this time. Then a neighbor suggested she research Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Philadelphia where she continues her treatment today.
Dawn takes care of her 86 year-old mother who lives with her now. She says her full-time job is to take care of herself and take care of her mom. She wants everyone to know “We are not the cancer; we are not the disease. We are women. We are women!”
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