by Rae Miller
 |
| Tina Grimstead-Campbell founded Pink Petals for Pat in honor of her sister, Pat. |
Early detection is critical in saving women from dying of breast cancer. Collaboration and education are key components of early detection. That's why The Rose - a nonprofit breast cancer organization that provides mammography screening, diagnosis and early access to treatment - joins forces with other nonprofits, such as Pink Petals for Pat. Launched by Alvin resident Tina Grimstead-Campbell, Pink Petals for Pat is in honor of her sister.
Through her clothing, Tina could physically see there was something wrong with her sister’s breasts.
She insisted and even begged her sister – who was not insured –to go to The Rose for a mammogram. Finally, Tina just made the appointment for Pat herself.
It was May 11, 2007.
It was too late.
Pat died of advanced breast cancer less than two months later, on July 9, 2007. She was 44. Tina, meanwhile, had always been a big believer in breast self-examination. Shortly after Pat died, she found a lump.
"Like Pat, I was terrified," Tina remembers. "I thought 'this cannot be happening to me.' I prayed for God to take it away."
God didn't take it away, but he must have guided her to The Rose – the same mammography center her sister had been to.
At that time, Tina was also uninsured.
"When I walked in those doors – and I was by myself – I was absolutely terrified," Tina says today. "Pat had just passed away, and The Rose staff knew her story. They were so sweet to me, and made me feel really comfortable. They didn't care about insurance papers, or lack thereof. None of that stuff mattered. They just said, 'let's get you in here and see what's going on.'"
Tina's lump was benign.
“I will never forget The Rose," Tina says.
With that scare out of the way, Tina got busy honoring the promise she had made to Pat before she died - to not let others suffer breast cancer in silence.
Almost two years later, Pink Petals for Pat is an entire initiative that includes volunteers, public speaking, education, information, and outreach.
Tina organizes a variety of events to meet those initiatives.
There is an annual Girlfriends Brunch that has grown from 40 women to more than 130. The brunch provides an atmosphere where women feel safe talking about breast health.
"As African American women, we were taught you don't touch your bodies, and you certainly don't talk about your bodies," says Tina. "One lady who came to a brunch, she was 72 and had never had a mammogram."
Tina debunks other myths she says are floating around out there.
She has had women tell her they don't have to worry about breast cancer because their breasts are too small.
Other women have told her that the lump they have under their armpit is not cancer – it is simply caused by their deodorant.
Misconceptions such as these dishearten Dorothy Weston Gibbon, CEO and co-founder of The Rose.
After years of public awareness, knowing that misconceptions and myths still abound is discouraging and potentially tragic, Gibbons said.
But Pink Petals for Pat brings new hope and real tools capable of shaking up a world of misconceptions.
"I'm Caucasian but Tina is African American,” says Gibbons. “If I want to reach the women she can reach, she is who I need to be working with. She is my partner on the ground,"
"Tina gets out and about; she arranges social functions that bring women together. She builds trust. She is an amazing resource for women – and we at The Rose can provide the diagnostic services they need."
One such event is an annual "In My Sisters' Shoes Community Block Walk," that will take place in October.
Tina contacted the elementary school that Pat once attended for permission to set up the walk's starting line there.
She ended up learning that the school's assistant principal was also a breast cancer survivor.
She also learned that, had it not been for The Rose mobile mammography unit, things might have turned out differently.
The story, as Tina tells it, is that the school principal wanted her mother to go for a mammogram. Mom didn't want to. She said she was "too old" to worry about such things. She was in her late 70's.
The daughter persisted with no luck. Finally, she told her mother she would go with her. They would both have mammograms, together. It worked.
Turned out mom was fine, but the daughter was not. She was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Caught at an early stage by The Rose, the principal can now say she's a breast cancer survivor.
In addition to the community block walk, Tina also has Pinkie Tee Parties.
The parties are something like a bridal or baby shower with games and prizes. The hostess is even provided with Pink Petals for Pat invitations and matching reply envelopes.The Pink Petals volunteers show up, serve party food, then start educating – but in a fun, almost festive way.
Take, for example, the game where hot pink bras are stuffed with cotton. Hiding within the cotton are little pink baby aspirin.
"We give each lady a bra and ask her what she feels," says Tina. "Most of ladies get it wrong. The point is, there are some lumps you can't feel."
Tina even busts out Hershey Kisses. The chocolate candy is shaped like a teardrop or, like a breast with a nipple.
Some of the candy kisses have coconut. Others are plain, others have caramel, some have almonds.
What we’re trying to show, says Tina, is that breast lumps come in all forms.
Next, Tina wants to launch an annual Survivors' Pink Pajama Party. She's certain her sister would approve.
"I still talk to Pat all the time. I do. She was such a kind-hearted person, I know she must be thrilled," Tina says.
Certainly Dorothy Gibbons is.
"Isn't it amazing that the people we served before are the same ones who can now help us reach the population we need?" Gibbons says. "It's a magical connection."
No comments:
Post a Comment