Survivors' Mission Is To Alert Younger Women To Breast Cancer

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Nineteen months ago on her son's birthday, a day that should have been filled with chocolate cake and Twister games, Mary Beth Gibson received news that changed her life forever. Doctors had confirmed her worst fear — breast cancer. She was only 41.

Breast cancer is often regarded as an illness of older women, but a survivor group called Beyond Boobs hopes to educate younger women about proper breast health and bridge the gap between awareness and action.

"People deal with diagnosis with cancer very differently," Gibson said. "For me, it was turning a really crappy experience into something to help others."

Gibson co-founded the nonprofit Beyond Boobs with Rene Bowditch after meeting her at a Williamsburg retreat for breast cancer survivors in September 2006. A professor at the College of William and Mary School of Law here, Bowditch, now 58, was dressed as "The Good Health Fairy," complete with fairy dust, pink-laced high-top tennis shoes and a headband sprouting colorful pom poms.

"She's so ridiculous-looking that people can't help looking at her without smiling," Bowditch said of her costumed character. "She's so healing."

Both women found the retreat's facilities inadequate in guiding young women with breast cancer. Only three of the 20 cancer survivors in attendance were under 50.

"Breast cancer is isolating enough, but as a young woman, it's even more so," Gibson said. "We define 'young women' as pre-menopausal women, and the issues facing pre-menopausal versus post-menopausal women are completely different. Not only is the cancer treatment different, but we are in the middle of our lives, as mothers, wives and career women, and sometimes dealing with fertility questions."

Through her role as an American Cancer Society Reach to Recovery volunteer, Bowditch organized a get-together in her cozy home for "tea and talk," inviting those she knew from work and met at the retreat a month earlier. In front of the brick fireplace and with two golden Labradors bearing witness, Beyond Boobs was born, providing a forum for young women to discuss their fears and concerns, such as radiation treatment and wig selection. Although only seven women were present at the first meeting, the organization grew to almost 20 members a year later, with ages ranging from 29 to 41.

The name Beyond Boobs raised a few eyebrows. Gibson explained that it was a way of approaching a serious subject with "healing humor."

"We don't want to be simply known as breast cancer survivors," Gibson said. "We are 'beyond' the disease and also 'beyond' women being associated with their breasts."

Gibson talked about her experiences in her home here. Outside, her husband Bo, 38, and son Clay, 7, practiced target shooting a Tropicana juice container with a BB gun.

"The hardest thing I had to do in my life was to tell my father that I had breast cancer. I called him and said, 'Dad, I found a lump,'" Gibson said.

To help her family and friends understand her ordeal, Gibson maintained a blog titled "My Year of Healing," which detailed her battle with breast cancer from diagnosis to recovery. Not only did she explain the complexities of breast cancer treatment, but she also provided tips on how to keep the disease at bay.

"As I embark upon my new mission to save lives by educating women about breast cancer, I may be able to use the blog as a tool in that endeavor," Gibson wrote last May 15. "I have to tell you about all of the lessons I learned."

In addition to the blog, her new mission included Beyond Boobs. The organization frequently sponsors projects to help encourage young women to take charge of their own breast health and to support those recently diagnosed. One undertaking was a YouTube video, where singers in pink Santa hats and tutus modified the song "The 12 Days of Christmas" to "The 12 Healthy Days of Christmas" ("three meals a day, two running shoes and a date for an annual mammogram").

Another such endeavor was the 2008 "Calendar to Live By," which featured members of the organization in photographs taken by Monica Sigmon. The group frequently autographs the calendars at the local Barnes and Noble bookstore to add a personal touch.

"It's a breast health manual posing as a calendar," Bowditch says.

Miss January, Jennifer Unger, 35, a stay-at-home mom, came up with the idea during one of the group's meetings.

"I asked, 'Has anyone done a breast cancer calendar?'" Unger said. "That started the spark. Everyone sat up a little bit straighter since then."

Already, the calendar is inspiring others to make a difference.

Kristine Stepnowski, 42, was intrigued by the group's name and stopped by the calendar-signing booth at the College of William and Mary bookstore. After meeting Bowditch and Gibson, she decided right then to start something similar back in Cleveland, Ohio, and raise awareness through public speaking at city high schools.

"This is information that 18- to 20-year-olds need to know from all walks of life. Breast care information is often lost from one point to another," Stepnowski said. "We need to plant the seed young so they know — not to frighten them."

Despite the initial success of the calendar, Gibson acknowledged that the calendar's message might not be reaching its target audience.

"Mostly older women buy it for themselves or for their daughters, or men for their wives. The calendar is meant for young women, but they don't go near it with a 10-foot pole," Gibson said. "We need to keep plugging away at that."

The organization hopes to become national, and perhaps international, through "Beyond Boobs in a box," a figurative name for a downloadable tip sheet on how to create a local Beyond Boobs chapter. In the meantime, they would like to share their journey with others and spread the message, through humor, that early detection saves lives.

Breast cancer is an "awful, terrible disease," Bowditch said. But, "If you approach it as horrible, nobody will listen."

(Euna Lhee wrote this article for The Staten Island Advance and can be contacted via odonnell(at)siadvance.com)