Not typical calendar girls
Women who are breast cancer survivors sell their month-by-month guide to raise money for programs.

By Karen Hinson

Pat Daly is the May model in "A Calendar to Live By," but she's there by being "in the club that no one wants to join."

Diagnosed with breast cancer in February, she has had chemotherapy, a mastectomy and radiation. Reconstruction and another mastectomy are planned for the spring.

Williamsburg photographic artist Monica Sigmon was at the other end of the camera when Daly posed.

"I don't think that I photograph well," Daly said, "but I did feel that if anyone could take a great picture of me, it was Monica."

The calendar is a month-by-month health guide for younger women, who might not be aware that breast cancer is the leading cause of female cancer deaths in the 15-54 age group.

"Young women do get breast cancer" is the message that the survivors' group Beyond Boobs Inc. wants to convey.

"We want checking your breast health to be as routine as taking care of your teeth and skin," Beyond Boobs co-founder Rene Bowditch said.

An instructor at the College of William and Mary's law school, Bowditch turns from her daytime persona to "The Good Health Fairy," her humorous alter ego.

Lacing up a pair of pink high-tops and crowning herself with a tiara, she brings smiles to the sick.

It's an act that she performed even before her breast cancer diagnosis, but it found special purpose when it linked her to other women struggling to overcome illness.

Bowditch met Mary Beth Gibson at a retreat for breast cancer survivors in 2006, and the pair began enjoying "tea and talk" with other young women.

The informal chats swelled to gatherings of more than 20, and soon a network was created.

The women named the group "Beyond Boobs" because they didn't want to be defined only by their status as breast cancer survivors.

According to the group's Web site, www.beyondboobsinc.org, the nonprofit group has a dual purpose:

"To save lives through education, especially by convincing women that they must be responsible for their own breast health, and by alerting the medical community to be vigilant in the detection of this disease in the youngest of women: and to support and encourage young women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer."

"We want women to learn and gain strength from our experiences, to know what we wish we had known," said Gibson, co-founder of the group.

"We want to remind women that the essence of a woman, her femininity and her value, are not contained in her breasts or her outward appearance."

The colorful, artistic photographs in the calendar celebrate this essence while conveying the importance of maintaining healthful habits.

Included are tips on cancer warning signs and prevention, healthful eating advice, a breast self-exam guide and checkup/mammogram reminders.

If the unthinkable does happen to you, don't be afraid to share with others, Daly said.

"Tell everyone. People really want to help," she said.

"You never know where your best support will come from."



Support the fundraiser
Ten percent of calendar sales benefits the Tidewater affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The remainder helps the group Beyond Boobs Inc. educate women about breast health. You can purchase "A Calendar to Live By" for $15 at www.beyondboobsinc.org or at these retail locations:

Art Cafe; College of William and Mary Bookstore; Comber Physical Therapy; The Daily Shake; Farm Fresh; G. Bates; Kinks, Quirks and Caffeine; The Mole Hole; Old Towne Pharmacy; Sacred Grounds; Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center; the Pineapple Gift Shop; Shear Magic; Ukrops; What I Want? Salon; Williamsburg Fine Arts; WMBG-AM 740