The Pink Cart Blog

When you're living with cancer your number one priority should be to focus your energy on getting well... not on keeping track of all the insurance paperwork, test results, and bills coming from your various doctor visits or hospital stays. That is why The Pink Cart takes pride in our partnership with an organization as outstanding as the American Cancer Society, because they offer so many valuable resources to cancer patients and their families.

A member of our Pink Cart team wrote us this week to share that she has, unfortunately, joined the ranks among the millions of us that have been touched indirectly by breast cancer. Her story is as moving as many that we have heard before, yet heartened with optimism given the recent release of the American Cancer Society’s annual report.

I had just turned 49 years old when I felt a small lump up towards my right armpit. The sad thing is I ignored it. I had just had a mammogram 2 months earlier - nothing to worry about. This was September of 2009. By the beginning of November I FINALLY decided to make an appointment to have it checked out - still, no worries. I'm a teacher and I was in the middle of parent/teacher conferences. The day of my appointment I cancelled. I was just too busy. My OBGYN even emailed me "Are you sure you want to cancel?” My response was "Yes". I wasn't too concerned.

Breast cancer touched my life when I was 23; my sister was 28 when she was diagnosed.  When I heard the news, I cried and cried thinking her life was over. 

She had a lumpetomy then did chemo and radiation. I took care of her a lot during this process.  I had to shave her head when her hair started falling out, I took her to the doctor and to chemo treatments. But she BEAT it! She was cancer free!  She even made the 5 year Survivor mark. 

I don't know where to start, so I guess the beginning is good. My baby sister, Terri Lynn was diagnosed with breast cancer in April of 2009. 1 year later to the day, our mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. My sister has a wonderful support system, which includes her husband who has stood by her through all of her sickness. Her daughter, Emmy who is 16 and has been a real trooper through everything, as well as her other family. My sister is the strongest person I know!

Hi Everyone! There's been a lot going on in the breast cancer community as of late. In case you missed it, here are some highlights from the last few weeks - let us know what else is going on that we may have missed!

Along this Pink Cart journey we've been on over the past nearly 3 years, there have been a handful of milestones we've celebrated with gusto and have held in our hearts as truly meaningful for the program, the cause, and for us personally as we remember those loved ones in our own lives who are fighting this disease. Today is another milestone for us all to celebrate - we have reached 50,000 supporters on The Pink Cart Facebook page!This is a BIG DEAL to us.

This is a new blog for us! We got to thinking it's great that we're able to share breaking news on Breast Cancer research studies, treatments, and personal stories but it's so easy to miss them on Facebook and Twitter if you're not logged in at the right time on the right day. So, we decided to bring you the major recent news stories and developments from the Breast Cancer world in one concise blog that highlights the things you need to know in a place where you can easily find them again and again. Here's what's been in the news the past two weeks:

It's hard to believe but Mother's Day is right around the corner! There are so many traditions for this holiday - brunch with family, looking through photo albums, handmade cards, and usually there's something we give to these incredible women to show our appreciation. We don't know about you but every year it seems like it's harder and harder to find a gift that is meaningful for the mothers in our lives.

It’s International Women’s Day. And in honor of women across the globe, we think it’s time to have a discussion about some changes we need to make here at home. There’s been a lot of buzz lately about a political commentator calling a young female lawyer who testified before congress a “slut” and a “prostitute” because she was advocating for wider, more affordable access to birth control. There was a snafu on our Facebook page earlier this week about it, too.

We are doing a little jig, ok a BIG jig, over here at the Pink Cart team headquarters because we just BLEW through a financial goal of raising $250,000 for the American Cancer Society!!! THAT is a lot of money and we know that every penny is going to the important work of research and breast cancer awareness across this great country. Did you know that when you buy a Pink Cart in your community your $5 makes it back there?

Well, we're thinking you've likely heard this by now. Susan G. Komen For The Cure announced this week that they would no longer be funding Planned Parenthood's breast cancer screening programs that provide breast health education, clinical breast exams and mammogram referrals to low income and uninsured women, often in rural or under served areas, who do not have other means of accessing these services. Komen stated that the decision was a result of a new internal policy that prohibited funding to any organization that was under local, state or federal investigation.

A good friend of The Pink Cart wrote to us a couple of weeks ago wanting to share something with The Pink Cart community. She wanted it to be something valuable and something people could relate to. After talking for a while, and hearing the story of her first mammogram, we both thought that would be a great thing to share. For those who have gone through it, it could be a trip down memory lane or it could reveal how the process may have changed over the years.

As part of our Healthy Holidays theme of  leading a healthy, anti-cancer lifestyle, we invited members of our Pink Cart Team to share their tips and tricks for living well and reducing their risk factors for developing breast cancer. Here's what Samia had to say about a new take on "good nutrition".

It's two days after Christmas and we are finally getting some snow here in Pink Cart's hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan. While the snow brings the cold, ice and questionable driving conditions, we have to admit, it just didn't feel like the Holidays without it.

This time of year is filled with lots of gift giving. Whether it's for your neighbors, your boss, co-workers, PTA members, family or friends - your shopping list can get really long really fast. And, as we are all more and more mindful these days of our budgets, these lists can become VERY expensive. With this economy, that's something we could all afford to cut down on.

It's December 1st. And you know what that means...it's here. The month of overdosing on holiday cheer, parties, food, deadlines, last minute shopping, family gatherings, travel, and a lot of extra expense. While the holidays are great for many reasons, they can also  be a huge source of STRESS. And since we know that stress, and the lifestyle choices it can lead us to, can contribute to an increased risk factor for breast cancer, we want to do something about it. So this month, we want to help make your holiday season a healthy one, and hopefully an even happier one because of it.

You've probably seen the pictures on Facebook by now. A sea of women (and one proud guy) dressed to the nines in pink jackets and feather boas. The team, or as we call them, 'Warriors in Pink', danced and chanted for the crowds gathered for the Grand Rapids Santa Claus Parade last Saturday. The onlookers loved it, saying it was their *favorite* part of the parade, next to Mr. Claus himself. Our dancers fed off their support and their energy and gave it their all.

It's November now and all the hype around October and it being breast cancer awareness month has dissipated. The Pink cart team was super busy all month with contests and give aways and blogging and general traffic on the Facebook page and our website. Now it's quiet and it feels like everyone has packed up and gone home. The traffic on our Facebook page has dramatically dropped off and while that is just fine, it tells us something.

At age 41, with no significant family history, I was diagnosed with breast cancer on Cinco de Mayo 2009. After work that day (I am a nurse) I went to my doctor because of a lump that puckered my skin. I knew what it meant, I  just needed confirmation. Like all others affected by cancer, this day changed my life irrevocably. Though given the choice to change circumstances, I wouldn't.

When it comes to PINK, you really don't have to look far. Ribbons, flags, shirts, tattoos, office supplies, posters, stickers, pins. If you're looking for something you can buy or wear to show your support for the fight against breast cancer, you can likely find it within a mile from your home or work. In October, it's usually as simple as looking at the end cap when you're in the check out lane.

I was looking forward to the start of a new year, 2011 promised to be filled with happiness and love.  However, this would soon be shattered by what I was about to find.

In 1988 when I was 32 years old I was diagnosed with breast cancer for the first time.  I did my 6 months of Chemo and followed all the rules laid out by my Doctor. 4 years later I had a recurrence.

We posted a link to a video for an all-woman owned and operated trash hauling company earlier this month as they are in the final selection stages for their own reality tv show. The company is called DirtyGirl Disposal and is run by a remarkable woman by the name of Katherine Fairbanks. When the link came into the office last week I passed it around to my co-workers to gauge their reaction because it's a little rough around the edges and I wanted to be sure that nobody would be offended by the language.

I have never shared my whole story with anyone before. Perhaps I find it hard to talk about or perhaps I am just scared to death. Not to share of course, but because of the unknown future it holds. But if one person reads it,  benefits from it and takes the next step of getting the dreaded mammogram then it will all be worth it. If it saves one life that would be priceless.

Last week, The Pink Cart hit a major milestone. Three local haulers, who normally compete with each other for customers, banded together to bring Pink Carts to the Twin Cities of  Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. The haulers, Dick's Sanitation, Troje's Trash & Recycling and Walter's Recycling & Refuse, all had their own story to tell about cancer.

I have been blogging about breast cancer and its affect on my life for the last couple of years and while it has been therapeutic the fact is that there are other really pressing things on my mind...such as... hair. Not every woman thinks about breast cancer but we ALL think about our hair. I confess that I hate my hair. I hate the way it consumes time every single morning, falls into my face and makes me scratch and that people feel free to make comments about it whether or not it’s “lookin good” at any particular moment.

It's a big day around here...being Pink carts birthday which of course, no co-incidence, is the anniversary of my Mother's passing from breast cancer and the WHOLE reason Pink cart was born. What few people know is it's also the date I chose to get married on.

This week we'll enter into September and face the sad truth that Summer is winding down and Fall is just around the corner. As the leaves begin to change, we in the PINK community also start to shift our focus to the pinnacle event for breast cancer awareness and support - October. Every October breast cancer support groups, charities and advocacy organizations flock to the streets, websites, blogs, social media channels, TV, and add their message to the caucus of PINK voices heard throughout the month.