The Pink Cart Blog

In August 2010 I went in for my annual mammogram. I was not worried, as no one in my family had a history of breast cancer. I was right not to be concerned. My mammogram was clear. One day in early February 2011 while in the shower, I noticed that my breast began to cave inward. I knew this was not a good sign.

If you know Dana Nowland, you know she is a fighter. The past three months have been particularly rough, and life has thrown a couple of pretty hard punches at her and her family. The first being the unexpected loss of her father, Rich Nowland, on June 17th. It was that week she had scheduled an appointment to have a painful and suspicious change in her left breast checked out. Convinced it was a clogged duct; trying to cope with the loss of her father, and assist the family with arrangements for his memorial she nearly cancelled the appointment that afternoon.

My journey with breast cancer began in utero. My maternal grandmother had her breast cancer at age 67, my Mom had her cancer at age 52, and I had my cancer at 38. Being a Third Generation Survivor has given me a unique opportunity to pay it forward. I advocate for others going through their cancer journey. I volunteer in the community to provide education, awareness, and raise monies for The CURE. I know that together we will eradicate cancer in our lifetime! Grateful for those of us that have survived; pray for Warriors and Remember the souls we have lost to this insidious disease.

My name is Tina Marie Vucci and I'm 44 years old. I found a lump the size of a pea in my left breast and it grew for 2 years. It was then the size of a golf ball and I had 3 the same size in my lymph nodes. It was 3rd stage breast cancer at 33 years old.

The calendar says it’s summer here in the Midwest, although you’d be hard-pressed to find the sun lately.

It’s the start of November and the busyness of October, and all its breast cancer activities, is starting to disappear in the rearview mirror. I appreciate October, am thankful that somebody called it out as THE month we pause and think about breast cancer. We dedicate an entire month – with a whopping 31 days in it – to raise our awareness. It’s really awesome.

I have had lumps removed since I was 27 years old. I have a family history on both sides of the family. I'm married with young children and felt that a benign fibroid was changing. I knew I wasn't due for a mammogram because it was less than my 2 year routine check. My PCP thought it was still benign but referred me back to Betty Ford for further investigation. I had a mamm and ultrasound and discovered that my fibroid was still benign, but they found calcification that looked suspect.

Ashley and her husband, Scott, have been faced with many obstacles over the last three years, but nothing could have prepared them for the trials 2013 would bring.

It all started for Ashley when she was injured at work in 2011; she fell and broke her ankle which caused her and Scott to fall into financial distress because she was unable to work, and workers compensation wasn’t following through with their obligations. This injury has left Ashley with permanent loss of partial motion, and severe nerve pain that may never subside.

It’s remarkable to think that it has been four years since the idea for The Pink Cart™ was born. I’ve told the story a hundred times about how I honestly believed if we could sell just a few thousand carts we would be able to turn curbsides pink and start a conversation. Within days of shipping our first carts we were getting calls and emails from people wanting to know where they could get one, strangers stopping at people’s houses to take pictures and send them to friends and family.

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! She has undergone a double mastectomy and various other health issues and still manages to hold her head high and fight.

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 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.

This weekend we celebrated my Father's 90th birthday. He is a good man who is still extremely active and independent -  at 90 he lives alone, works, plays golf, travels and dates women younger than me (which will have to be the subject of a later blog :)) There was a 13 year age difference between my Mom and Dad and so when Mom died so young from breast cancer it really rocked him to his very core. He never expected to get left. You know that feeling...being left behind. It's debilitating.