Thirteen mortgage payments, 18 rent payments, 21 electric bills, 14 gas bills, 11 medical co-payments: Paid.
Car payments, medical equipment, phone bills, water bills, cable bills … For some local breast cancer patients, such costs have been taken care of, courtesy of Breast Intentions, a Monmouth Countybased grassroots group that has been helping patients and their families over the past four years.
The need that such organizations look to fill is great.
One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, making it the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women, according to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Each year, more than 220,000 women in the United States are diagnosed, and more than 40,000 will die of breast cancer, the second leading cause of death among women.
New Jersey has consistently ranked in the top 10 among states for breast cancer incidence and mortality, according to the New Jersey Department of Health.
This is why the volunteer efforts by thousands of members of New Jersey grassroots organizations such as Breast Intentions are so integral to assisting national organizations in their fundraising, awareness and outreach efforts. Hundreds of organizations across the state raise hundreds of thousands of dollars each year toward finding a cure for breast cancer and supporting those in need.
“Everybody is personally touched by breast cancer, so I think it’s very gratifying to be involved … because they do it for personal reasons … which is their way of giving back and showing support,” said Nancy Healey, executive director of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Central and South Jersey division.
Each year, more than $700,000 is raised to support Komen for the Cure. Participation in fundraising events widens the circle of people who decide to get involved, Healey said.
“People are role models. When you attend an event someone puts on to support our organization … they think, ‘I can do this. My kids can do this. My neighbors can do this.’ … It’s very doable for a small group of people who want to make an impact,” Healey said.
Cousins Erika Rech and Mike Ruane, of Middletown, exemplified that four years ago when they began Breast Intentions, originally calling it Breast Friends Forever. A freshman in high school at the time, Rech learned in October 2006 that her mother had been diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.
Six months later, her aunt had stage 2 cancer. Another aunt was told she needed a prophylactic mastectomy around the same time.
She and Ruane had participated in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life fundraiser. During the overnight event that year, around midnight, they began talking about how they could channel their frustration and anger, and decided to start their own charity.
By selling candy bars at church, making bracelets and T-shirts, and holding can drives, as well as organizing an annual gala, the organization raises money to help women handle their financial expenditures. Patients send in their outstanding bills and on a case-by-case basis the members of Breast Intentions determine the most pressing needs and send checks to the appropriate billing agencies.
“I saw firsthand how much cancer bills can amount to,” Rech said.
In the past four years, the organization has raised and doled out more than $700,000.
“They focus on the greatest need for the patient,” said Rech’s mother, Carol, sharing a story about how the organization was able to fly, first class, a critically ill patient home to Ohio so she could be surrounded by loved ones when she died.
The group also established the Pink Pact program, which teaches high school students about the importance of breast health and selfexams. This was inspired by a 24-year-old woman diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer.
“That shocked me, because she was so young and had such an aggressive cancer,” Rech said.
Their efforts have led to chapters of Breast Intentions being established in New York, Illinois, Georgia and Massachusetts.
Other grassroots organizations have had a similar effect, providing a chain reaction of offshoot organizations and volunteer efforts.
In North Brunswick, the annual Care to Walk, which raises money to fight breast and ovarian cancer, was started by a group of seven local women in 1998. A club was also organized at the high school level in 2000 to support the mission.
Many towns, including Red Bank, Atlantic Highlands, Little Silver, Fair Haven and Holmdel, hold “Paint the Town Pink” events every May, surrounding local residents and shoppers with the color pink in an effort to encourage women over 40 to go for annual mammograms.
In 2007, volunteers at Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank launched the Shop Dine Pledge campaign to raise awareness about early detection.
“It’s tremendous community spirit,” Debra Camal, medical director of the breast program at Meridian Cancer Care, said of the effort to raise funds for underinsured or uninsured women. “It’s a lot of fun, but it’s very educational.”
At L’Oreal USA in Cranbury, employee Fatima Abreu said she was so inspired by the efforts of her company to raise funds for Komen that she and friends there have joined breast cancer walks, and instead of buying each other Christ- mas gifts,
donate money to create feel-good bags for cancer patients. Also through L’Oreal, Jackie Jones started a Zumbathon for Komen two years ago as a “party in pink” event. The first event brought 241 participants to Rho Ristorante Discoteca in Trenton (formerly Kat- ManDu). It has raised $6,000 over two years.
Breast cancer survivor Kathy Oldak, also from L’Oreal, has decided to give back to those who helped during her struggles, and now volunteers at the annual Ride for the Cure horseback riding fundraiser for Komen.
“While we love when we get large checks from single donors, when we get hundreds of checks from smaller grassroots organizations, it means there are more people supporting the community,” Healey said. “Komen raises awareness about early detection, and the more aware people are about Komen through our own initiatives or through the initiatives of grassroots organizations … the more people are going to learn how to take care of themselves.”
There are various means of support available to give women with breast cancer some hope and relief.
The American Cancer Society’s Look Good … Feel Better initiative helps women feel better about their appearance with hair and makeup tips.
Ted Friedli, of Excel Travel in Long Branch, raises funds through his Kick Cancer Overboard program to provide free cruises to cancer patients.
Fashion shows around the area feature patients and survivors of cancer as models.
Some radiology offices offer free massages with mammograms.
Camal, of Meridian Cancer Care, even discovered a group that takes women fishing in upstate New York.
The impact of such volunteering is seen especially during October, which is national Breast Cancer Awareness Month, as groups and organizations hold walks, awareness events and other fundraisers to support their loved ones while trying to save more lives each year.
“I’m a really strong believer in local support. National organizations are wonderful and we do need to raise money, but the idea of the local community raising money and keeping it in the community … is wonderful,” Camal said.
For more information on statistics, resources, doctors, hospitals and support groups, visit the following websites: American Cancer Society
www.cancer.org
The Breast Cancer Foundation
www.nationalbreastcancer.org
Susan G. Komen For the Cure
www.komen.org
The Breast Cancer Program at
CentraState Medical Center, Freehold
www.centrastate.com/
cancer-center/breast-cancer
Breast Care Connection at
Robert Wood Johnson University
Hospital, New Brunswick
www.rwjuh.edu
The Cancer Institute of New Jersey
www.cinj.org
The Breast Center at Riverview
Medical Center, Red Bank
www.riverviewmedicalcenter.com
University Medical Center at
Princeton Breast Health Center
www.princetonhcs.org