Komen Pink

Inside: • Komen Phoenix grants change lives • Ambassadors ease fears, educate | P2

Fighting Breast Cancer: 20 years, 20 Faces of Komen Phoenix | P4-5

Bodour Salhia

Robert Morales, Jr.

Anel Vizcarra Marquez

Rose Rivers

Bobi Seredich Pierson

TOGETHER WE PROMISE P H O E N I X KOM E N F O R T H E C U R E

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KOM E N P H O E N I X : 2 0 Y E A R S O F S E RV I C E

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

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Best of the best

Komen Phoenix captures prestigious award

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BY DEBRA GELBART

omen Phoenix was named Affiliate of the Year by the Susan G. Komen for the Cure parent organization earlier this year, besting more than 125 outstanding other affiliates (chapters) around the country and internationally.

The award is given to the affiliate that exhibits the best overall effort in advancing the Komen vision of creating a world without breast cancer.

“I’m still ecstatic,” said Komen Phoenix Board President Carolyn Evani. “It’s wonderful to receive recognition for the work that has been done by our amazingly dedicated board and staff. To have the acknowledgment that we try to serve our community in the very best way possible is incredibly meaningful.”

The Affiliate’s service area stretches across nine counties in central and northern Arizona, including Maricopa County. Since 1993, the Affiliate has raised and granted more than $20 million for local education, screening and treatment programs and national research efforts, making it the largest private grantor of breast cancer funds in Arizona. “Over the last several years,” Evani said, “we’ve made a committed effort to expand our services to more fully address the needs of the community.”

Queen Creek resident Kimberly Erev understands the real power and reach of that expanded effort. Three years ago

Komen Phoenix

provides breast cancer support and services throughout central and northern Arizona.

Erev, 51, had a life-saving a mammogram through a Maricopa County Department of Health program funded by a Komen Phoenix grant. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer, she was able to receive radiation treatment through another program funded by Komen Phoenix. Today, Erev is doing well, and she wants people to know how much participation in Komen fundraisers means to people who can’t afford health care. “Even small donations really make a difference, because they go directly to help people like me.”

In the past 20 years, she and thousands of other women have received free or low-cost mammograms and other diagnostic services through Komen Phoenix funding. Komen Phoenix also has funded more than 2,000 treatments for cancer patients.

In the past year alone, the Phoenix Affiliate expanded the volunteer Community Outreach (continued, page 2)

“I’ve got cancer. What do I do?”

Komen Phoenix acts as a lifeline to those in need

BY FRANK NAGY | KOMEN PHOENIX GRANTS AND COMMUNITY RESOURCES MANAGER

Y

A life saved

Komen Phoenix grants help Queen Creek woman unable to get care STORY BY DEBRA GELBART | PHOTO BY LEANNA MCDONALD, WWW.PHOTOSBYLEANNA.COM

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From left: Cyndi Klyber, Beverly Kruse, Sharon Kolb, Tonsa Price-Edwards, Bridget Eagy, Daniel Costello, Shawn Elmore, Carolyn Evani, Heather Roberts, Frank Nagy and Robin Hansen.

ou wouldn’t believe how many phone calls I receive that start this way.

I act as the first point of contact for women seeking resources. Most of my calls are from women who have received mammograms and were diagnosed outside of the Well Woman HealthCheck Program. They have no insurance, are underinsured or their insurance simply doesn’t cover treatment.

When they call, many of these women are scared. And some are hopeless. They want to share their story. They just want to know that someone cares and that there is hope.

When I hang up the phone, I hope the woman I have just spoken to is thinking, “Thank God I called them, I’m so relieved to get connections to the resources I need.”

At Komen Phoenix, we work hard every day to get these women where they need to be. The last thing they need is the stress and aggravation involved with calling a bunch of numbers and getting the runaround, or worse, hitting a dead end. Usually by the time I speak with them, they have already tried several other organizations and are grateful to have finally reached someone

Kimberly Erev, a three-year cancer survivor, has a new appreciation for life.

who truly understands and will do what it takes to help them.

At Komen Phoenix, we want to do more than just provide the path, we want help women navigate it. We attempt to follow up with each and every woman who calls our office to make sure they are getting the support they need.

We seek to lighten the burden for these women who are already scared thinking about how they are going to pay their bills if they can no longer work, what it’s going to be like when they start chemo, or how they are going to afford $10,000 treatments.

We’d like to ensure Komen Phoenix can act as a lifeline. After getting the diagnosis of cancer, we want women to know they are not alone and we are here to help as an effective resource to get them where they need to go. I will often tell them: “If I don’t have the answer I will find one for you and if you have any trouble give me a call back, even if everything works out okay.”

My job is to get them to the right resources as quickly and effectively as possible. If our grantees can’t help, we try our best to find someone who can.

n 2009, Kimberly Erev was in denial.

For weeks, she had been noticing that something wasn’t right with her left breast, but the then-48-yearold tried to convince herself that the discharge she saw on her sheets wasn’t anything to worry about. “I simply couldn’t afford to be sick,” she said.

Finally, one day, it became unmistakable that there was a problem with her nipple she could no longer ignore.

She and her husband Eli both knew that she needed medical attention urgently. But she had no health insurance, and she was worried a battle was ahead.

She started calling doctors’ offices and radiology facilities to figure out the charges for an exam and a mammogram. No one, she said, would tell her in plain language what it would cost out of pocket for those services. “I was told I needed to come in to be evaluated and they would tell me then how much I would have to pay,” she said.

When she declined, the conversation always ended, she said, with a dismissive “Good luck.”

“Nobody wanted me,” she said. Because she was ineligible for AHCCCS, the state’s Medicaid program, and her problem wasn’t immediately lifethreatening, she had nowhere to go. A friend of a friend who worked in health care knew of a program that was able to offer low-cost exams because of a grant from Komen Phoenix. Erev, who lives in Queen Creek, had an exam at a minimal cost and then went to a radiology facility for a mammogram, another service funded through a Komen Phoenix grant.

“Without Komen and their funds, I’d be dead,” she said matter-of-factly.

But some of that funding could be in jeopardy. Nationally this year, participation and fundraising efforts related to Race for the Cure are down 30 to 50 percent. If this trend takes hold in Arizona, it could result in cuts of as much as half of the life-saving services currently funded through the Komen Phoenix grants program. Since its inception, Komen Phoenix has granted more than $17 million to support community programs. In 2012, Komen

Phoenix funded $1.5 million to support 18 community breast health and breast cancer programs across central and northern Arizona.

Erev has a heartfelt plea for the community: “Please help Komen help women like me. Every dollar you donate to Komen can make a difference.

There are so many women who need care and can’t afford it.”

What doctors saw on Erev’s mammogram was characterized as “highly

»

Every dollar you donate to Komen can make a difference.

There are so many women who need care and can’t afford it.

KIMBERLY EREV

suspicious of malignancy” and she was urged to undergo a biopsy. She was able to get outstanding care through Maricopa Integrated Health System at a significantly reduced cost. After a biopsy and a diagnosis of cancer, she underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy and through yet another Komen grant, radiation at Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa. And even though her cancer was considered “aggressive,” today she is feeling well.

She has two more messages, she said, in the aftermath of her experience. The first is that it’s not just a lump or a mass in your breast that could be threatening your health. Nipple discharge needs to be reported right away to a medical professional. “And, women 40 and over need regular mammograms,” she said.

“Don’t wait to get one like I did. Because of Komen, no one in this age group should have to go without a mammogram. If I had gotten my mammogram years earlier, my cancer would have been caught before it was aggressive.”

Touching lives

Erev is one of countless women who have benefited over the past 20 years due to the efforts of Komen Phoenix.

Read about some of the other lives who have been touched by Komen Phoenix in the “20 Years, 20 Faces of Komen”

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2 | SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

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Granting hope: Komen Phoenix grants change lives

ighteen health care and community organizations in Arizona are current recipients of Susan G. Komen for the Cure – Phoenix grants to provide screening, treatment and education services to underserved women throughout the state.

Komen Phoenix has granted these organizations $1.5 million collectively, and has provided an additional $500,000 to help fund international research efforts. “Our grants process is driven entirely by a community needs assessment,” said Komen Phoenix board president Carolyn Evani. “All of our grantees provide services that would otherwise be lacking within some communities.”

“The grants program is geared to filling in gaps in community-based care, especially

for women who may not be eligible for care under existing government programs,” said Frank Nagy, grants and community resource manager for Komen Phoenix. Many women who can’t afford mammograms can get them through several of the grantees, including: • Mountain Park Health Center, where hundreds of mammograms and nearly 100 ultrasounds are offered to lowincome, uninsured patients of predominantly minority race and ethnicity; • Desert Mission’s Community Health Center in partnership with John C. Lincoln Breast Health and Research Center, where 160 underserved women over age 40 will receive free or low-cost screening mammograms;

A victory for Arizona women

Change provides much-needed cancer funding

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n a victory for women throughout the state, a woman’s location at the time of her breast or cervical cancer diagnosis is no longer a factor in determining whether or not she receives treatment from Arizona’s Medicaid program, thanks to a policy change that removes barriers and d edicates more funding toward treatment services.

Up until Aug. 2, when the Fiscal Year 2013 budget package and policy changes went into effect, coverage for breast and cervical cancer treatment in Arizona’s Medicaid program, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), was only available to uninsured women who were diagnosed through Arizona’s Well Woman HealthCheck Program (WWHP). But now, women in Arizona will receive Medicaid services regardless of where they were originally screened, as long as they meet other eligibility requirements.

The new policy also opens up $2 million dedicated from Arizona and a federal match of $6 million for women in need to access treatment services.

The change was initiated by House Bill 2472, co-sponsored by Rep. Kate Brophy McGee, R-Phoenix, and Rep. Matt Heinz, D-Tucson. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) and the Arizona Affiliates of Susan G. Komen for the Cure collaborated to support the effort.

“With this change, access to treatment is awarded to Arizona’s most vulnerable population – women who are productive members of our community yet earn low incomes and are uninsured, and do not otherwise qualify for AHCCCS,” said Beverly Kruse, executive director of the Komen Phoenix Affiliate. “This is an incredible testament to the positive change that can be made when we work together.”

According to the American Cancer Society 2012 Facts & Figures, 4,470 women in Arizona are expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer and 250 diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2012. It is estimated that hundreds of Arizona women have been negatively affected by the state’s restrictions.

• Gila River Health Care, which will provide outreach, education and screening for close to 1,000 uninsured and underinsured Native American women age 40 and older; • Planned Parenthood Arizona’s mobile mammography program, which will provide 120 no-cost screenings to uninsured Hispanic women.

Treatment, education key, too

Treatment program grantees include the Maricopa County Health Department, which offers a last-resort resource for women living in Maricopa County who have breast cancer. The program will provide approximately 75 to 130 treatment procedures, including chemotherapy,

radiation, lumpectomy, or mastectomy for women who otherwise would go without cancer treatment procedures.

Education grantees include Asian Pacific Community in Action, which will educate about 550 Asian-American and Pacific Islander women in Maricopa County about breast health and assist these women in accessing mammography services.

The grants for all 18 grantees comes directly from funds raised from the annual Race for the Cure, Nagy said. “People who participate in these events or sponsor those who do directly help hundreds and hundreds of Arizona women every year stay healthy or get the treatment they need after a breast cancer diagnosis.”

Ambassadors ease fears, educate

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BY ALISON STANTON

hen Anel Vizcarra Marquez was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 28, she felt anxious, scared and very alone. “I saw myself as bald, and I saw myself as sick,” Marquez said.

When one of her professors at South Mountain Community College learned about the health battle that Marquez was fighting, she took her under her wing and helped the young single mom through the entire treatment process, patiently explaining everything along the way.

The way that one person made all the difference to Marquez during her treatment inspired her to want to help other women who are also feeling scared and lonely in their fight against breast cancer.

So when a representative from the Phoenix Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure contacted Marquez to see if she would be interested in being a Community Outreach Ambassador, Marquez immediately agreed.

Over the past year, Marquez — who is now a five-time survivor of breast cancer — has volunteered at community and employer-sponsored health events, teaching participants about breast cancer and sharing information about resources for free or low-cost screening and treatment services.

“I teach them about what cancer is as well as about the medications and treatments that are available,” she said.

“I also talk about the importance of staying ahead of cancer, like being aware

of changes in the way breasts look or feel, eating healthily and exercising.”

Sharon Kolb, Mission Support Specialist for the Phoenix Affiliate, said that Marquez is one of about 50 to 60 active volunteers who are part of the Community Outreach Ambassador program. On average, she said, the volunteers attend a combined total of nearly 150 community and employer events each year “Those who take part in the program are a vital link to helping to educate the public, and they have typically been touched by breast cancer in some way. It is a way for them to become an advocate and it is very satisfying for them to share life-saving information while listening to the stories of others.”

For Marquez, meeting people and learning how breast cancer has affected them is definitely a highlight of the program, as is having the chance to make a difference in their lives.

When a woman approached Marquez after a recent presentation and told her how frightened and angry she was about her recent diagnosis of breast cancer and her reluctance to go through treatment, Marquez offered her empathy, understanding and hope. “I told her, ‘I know what you want; you want someone to say it will all be okay,’” Marquez said. “So I talked to her and said ‘I will be that person—it is going to be okay.’

When we were done talking the woman told me ‘God bless you.’ And I thought to myself, that is why I’m doing this.”

“I know my health care needs are unique.”

“I want to be a healthy mom.”

A breast cancer survivor participates in the Pink Parade of survivors kicking off Race day. This year's Pink Parade begins at 6:45 a.m.

Koman Phoenix: Best of the best (continued, from the cover) Ambassadors program; hosted the first annual Survivor Education and Empowerment Conference; and d eveloped the Diversity and Inclusion Council, which hosted several events designed to engage local African American, Asian American, Hispanic, Native American, LGBT and immigrant and refugee communities.

Those strides have been made while navigating organizational changes as well, said Shawn Elmore, the development director of the Phoenix Affiliate. Revenue increased by 23 percent while working through staff and board changes, he said.

The board’s authority shifted to a governance role that reduced its day-to-day administrative responsibilities. “Our board made that transition seamlessly,” Elmore said, “and that is viewed as a significant achievement because a lot of other non-

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profit organizations have had difficulty with that kind of change.”

Elmore said the Phoenix Affiliate has met fundraising challenges with determination and creativity. “To be an organization that survives long-term, we must diversify our sources of income,” he said. “It’s an ongoing challenge for us to encourage the public to think of us as an organization that needs funding year-round and d oes more than sponsor the Race for the Cure. We’ve already had success developing partnerships with local businesses that agree to do cause-related marketing for us.”

Elmore said he is “excited and pleased” that the Phoenix Affiliate won the award.

“All of us are trying to do the best work we can do to help the community,” he said.

“It’s gratifying and inspiring to know that our efforts are making a difference.”

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20 YEARS, 20 FACES OF KOMEN PHOENIX Komen Phoenix began in 1993. Since then, the affiliate has raised more than $20 million for local education, screening and treatment programs and national research efforts. For two decades, women and men across the state of Arizona have been touched by the work of Komen Phoenix. Some of these people will tell you; they owe their life to work of Komen Phoenix. Here are a few of those faces and stories: PHOTOS BY LEANNA MCDONALD, WWW.PHOTOSBYLEANNA.COM

Greg Hoffmann | Phoenix

Co-Survivor, Public Policy Activist, Komen Ambassador, Race for the Cure and 3-Day Participant, Fundraiser, 3rd Party Benefit Organizer, Donor Why I Walk: “I walk to honor the life of my late wife, Jen, and so that others won’t have to endure what she endured.”

Just months after Greg’s wedding to Jen, she was re-diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer. Through 23 rounds of chemo, Jen’s spirit never faded and her fierce involvement in the cause inspired others – including Greg. Greg is a Community Outreach Ambassador for Komen Phoenix. He is a dedicated donor, a 13-time participant in the Race for the Cure and a 6-time walker in the Arizona 3-Day.

Barbra Watson-Riley | Paradise Valley

Young Survivor, Komen Phoenix Board Member, Diversity and Inclusion Council Member, Race Participant, Fundraiser, diagnosed outside of Well Woman HealthCheck Why I Walk: “This year will be different.

Special. We will walk because we are surviving ‘Life in the Cancer Lane.’ We walk because we are committed to doing something!”

A long-standing Komen Phoenix board member and founder of the Coalition of Blacks Against Breast Cancer, Barbra is now also a breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed just months after a clear mammogram with aggressive Stage 2, triple negative breast cancer. Through three surgeries, multiple rounds of chemo and radiation that caused third-degree burns, Barbara remained positive and is more determined than ever in her roles to fight the disease.

Blayre Riley | Paradise Valley

Co-Survivor, Youth Advocate, Race Participant Why I Walk: “Because it’s what we do as a family. I have walked in a walk every year of my life. Even as a 3-month-old, I rode in a stroller! For as long as I can remember I have been wearing people’s names, like my Great Aunt’s and my parent’s friends, on my Race shirt. Last year, I added my mom’s name.”

Blayre just turned 10-years-old. She’s a straight-A student, but her knowledge goes far beyond math, science and language arts. Blayre is an expert on dealing with breast cancer because she stood right by her mom as she battled the disease. She hopes that by the time she has a daughter, there will be a cure.

Robert Morales Jr. | Laveen

Co-Survivor, Community Outreach Ambassador, Race for the Cure Participant Why I Walk: “I walk to bring forth the affects of breast cancer to the young and old alike – and to all races – as breast cancer is blind – and let them know that there is still hope for a cure.”

Robert has at least four reasons he’s pledged to keep fighting against breast cancer – two aunts, his mom and his sister.

With each devastated call he received over the years announcing yet another diagnosis, he became more determined to help the cause. Robert is now a Community Outreach Ambassador for Komen Phoenix, regularly speaking at events and reaching out to diverse audiences with his bilingual abilities.

Zachary Singh | Phoenix

Co-Survivor, Volunteer, Race Intern, Youth Advocate Why I Walk: “I walk so no one has to hear the words breast cancer.”

Zachary was just about to enter his junior year of high school when his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Zachary graduated early and delayed college to help his mom, now in remission, through two years of treatment and reconstructive surgeries. Today, Zachary is an intern at Susan G. Komen Phoenix and is helping to plan this year’s Race.

Bodour Salhia, PhD | Mesa

Non-Profit Community Partner, Community Outreach Ambassador Why I Walk: “As a breast cancer scientist, I walk in support of breast cancer research and the entire breast cancer movement worldwide.”

As an Independent Research Investigator at TGen and a Community Outreach Ambassador for Komen Phoenix, Dr. Bodour Salhia’s relationship with Komen began with the receipt of a grant to fund her breast cancer research. But, it goes much deeper.

Dr. Salhia connects with the people her research is attempting to serve through her volunteer efforts. By putting a real face to her research, Dr. Salhia is inspired and motivated in a more profound way.

Colleen Paiano | Peoria

Survivor, Patient of services through Komen funded program, diagnosed outside Well Woman HealthCheck Why I Walk: “I walk for all the same reasons everyone walks...awareness, to raise funds, etc. But for me there is something more. I walk to show Cancer didn’t get me and to prove to myself I can beat anything put in front of me as well as to support other survivors who have traveled the same road as me.”

After a routine mammogram, Colleen was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, high nuclear grade. She didn’t

have health insurance, but she uncovered help through a Komen Phoenix grant. Colleen’s double mastectomy took place nearly two years ago. She’s now back to work and will soon be headed back to school for her degree. Giving back to her community is also one of her goals because she says so much has been given back to her.

Sabrina A. Douglas | Scottsdale

Survivor, Co-Survivor, Community Outreach Ambassador, Race for the Cure participant Why I Walk: “I walk for my granddaughters, as well as my survivor mother and brother. I walk to make a difference in the Black community.”

Sabrina lost an aunt and her adopted mother to breast cancer. She he rself is a survivor as are her biological mother and brother. Komen Phoenix is the first place she went for information for both her adopted mother and herself. Sabrina’s now participated in both the Race for the Cure and 3-Day and has become a Community Outreach Ambassador for Komen Phoenix. Armed with her story of survivorship, Sabrina says she’s “on fire” for Komen.

Brigid Burns Tueros | Phoenix

2012 Race for the Cure Honorary Race Chair, Young Survivor, Race for the Cure and 3-Day participant, Fundraiser Why I Walk: “I walk for myself, my friends and all other women who have been or will be diagnosed with Breast Cancer. I walk for hope, inspiration and a cure! In memory of my two dearest battle sisters, Maria Spirandi and Michelle Wilsey Berry who both lost their battle with Breast Cancer.”

Diagnosed at age 29, Brigid (with the help of her determined mother) had to fight with her radiologist to receive a mammogram after an ultrasound appeared normal. The resulting images led to a biopsy that revealed stage 3 breast cancer. Brigid was immediately scheduled for a mastectomy and chemotherapy – and it was then that she scheduled something for herself, walking in her first Komen

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WWW.KOMENPHOENIX.ORG Phoenix Race for the Cure, which has been she had learned. Within two weeks, her mother shared she had found a lump. In an annual tradition ever since. This year, she is serving as the Honorary Race Chair. Chinese and other Asian cultures, people rarely talk openly about topics such as cancer, which are considered taboo. Faustine is Anel Vizcarra Marquez | Mesa Young Hispanic Survivor, trying to change this perception by raising awareness among the local Chinese comCommunity Outreach munity through her involvement with the Ambassador, Event Arizona Asian American Association and Volunteer sharing her mother’s story of survivorship.

Why I Walk: “I walk so I can show the world that cancer is not the end, Xiomara Staback Smith | Phoenix Volunteer, Advocate but the beginning of a battle that teaches Why I Walk: “I walk endurance and strength .” because it is a way of makDiagnosed with the disease for the first ing our community aware time at just 28 years old, Anel has endured of our responsibility to supa lumpectomy, radiation, chemotherapy port those who have been and metastasis. She has heard the words, touched by breast cancer.”

“Your cancer has returned,” on four sepaXiomara has seen several women afrate occasions. Today, at 42, Anel is underfected by breast cancer. But it was while going chemotherapy yet again as a fivetime breast cancer survivor. But instead of working as a volunteer linguist where she encountered a breast cancer patient that letting negative emotions get the best of did not have the means to pay for her her, Anel has kept a positive attitude and become a breast cancer advocate including imminent surgery that she became an advocate. What began with a phone call to serving as a Komen Phoenix Community Komen Phoenix for help has grown into a Outreach Ambassador. full mission for Xiomara. She is committed to using her bilingual skills to help women Lewis Elliot | Scottsdale Co-Survivor, Fundraiser, in need connect with Komen resources.

Volunteer, Donor, Race Bobi Seredich Pierson | Phoenix Committee Member Young Survivor, Race Why I Walk: “I walk/ for the Cure Participant, tri/run/race so that no Fundraiser, Donor more loved ones die from Why I Walk: “I walk as breast cancer.” a survivor and evangelist There’s no doubt that Lewis’s mom, who reminding others to be coulost her battle with breast cancer, would be rageous and get screened. proud of her son. Not only has he made We are all walking together today and everya name for himself as a professional triday to save more lives while finding a cure.” athlete, he has also helped orchestrate Tri Bobi didn’t feel sick. She was only in her for the Cure benefitting Komen Phoenix.

There’s a sense of comfort in knowing that 30s, active and ate healthy. While there was cancer in her family, it came later in life. he’s making a difference in the lives of women and their families, and he’s grateful Yet, Bobi had cancer. She had a lumpectomy and removal of her lymph nodes. But to the community for their support in she had one procedure first: Worried that making it all happen. she may not be able to get pregnant if she had to endure chemotherapy, Bobi went to Faustine Gabriel | Chandler Co-Survivor, Communi- a fertility doctor and was able to safely and ty Outreach Ambassador, successfully freeze some of her eggs. Bobi is now the proud mother of twins.

Event Volunteer, Event Participant Miryam Gutier-Elm | Glendale Why I Walk: “I walk Volunteer, Community for my mother and everyOutreach Ambassador, one whose lives have been Race for the Cure Executouched by breast cancer.” tive Committee Member When Faustine was in junior high, a Why I Walk: “Susan G. Komen Phoenix representative visited her Komen provides education class to talk about breast health. Faustine and awareness regarding went home and told her mother about what

the importance of early detection and being our own best health care advocate, while providing resources for those diagnosed with breast cancer.”

Miryam began volunteering for Komen Phoenix with her daughter. They found great personal satisfaction in their annual Race volunteering, which made Miryam want to do more. Miryam has made it her personal mission to arm young adults with breast health information, focusing on middle and high school girls who she believes are most receptive to the information.

Judy Gauvin | Goodyear

Survivor, Community Outreach Ambassador, Volunteer, Race for the Cure Participant, 3-Day Participant Why I Walk: “Being a survivor is about trying to help someone else survive. I walk because I want to raise awareness about the importance of prevention and early detection – both key factors to survival.”

Judy spent 9 months undergoing a lumpectomy, six rounds of chemotherapy and 33 sessions of radiation to treat invasive ductile carcinoma, an aggressive HER2-positive breast cancer. She lost all of her hair, but none of her spirit. Judy now spends two days a week volunteering in the Komen Phoenix office and she recently became a Community Outreach Ambassador. Judy’s husband, and biggest support, Jeff, sits on the Komen Phoenix board. The duo has participated in several Komen Race for the Cure events in multiple states.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2012 | 5

cancer. Rose is now a two-year survivor, who celebrates her journey and survivorship by sharing her story with everyone she comes in contact with.

Sherry Gage | Phoenix

Survivor, Non-Profit Community Partner, Public Policy Activist, Race for the Cure Participant, Fundraiser Why I Walk: “I walk to symbolize HOPE, I work to bring about CHANGE and provide EDUCATION!” Sherry’s journey began with her career as a Mammography Technologist and Director of Women’s Imaging since 1990.

Working with women to diagnose early stage breast cancer just felt right. Then, in 2005 she was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer stage 2. Being a single parent and a mother of three boys was first and foremost on her mind, and winning this battle was imperative for her family. Through her own journey she found breast cancer provided her even more connections with patients with Sherry sharing her experience and knowledge of resources.Two years later, Sherry was provided the opportunity to build and create a breast health and research center for John C. Lincoln Health Network. She was excited to work with the CEO, now President of John C. Lincoln and also a breast cancer survivor, to build a center to offer care and fill the gaps for patients and their families.

Nancy Foreman RN,OCN,CBCN | Flagstaff

Survivor, Non-Profit Community Partner, Komen 3-Day ParticiSurvivor, Patient of pant, Donor Services through Why I Walk: “Until Komen-Funded Program we find a cure, to provide Why I Walk: “My state of the art treatment, family members walk in education and support for those going the Race to support me and all of those who have through a breast cancer diagnosis.”

As a breast cancer nurse navigator at been affected by this disease.” the Cancer Center at Flagstaff Medical Rose faithfully did her self breast Center, Nancy meets with newly diagexams. She had no lumps to speak of.

But, a persistent pain that awoke her most nosed breast cancer patients and helps them through the “uncharted territory” nights had her worried. She had just lost that as a survivor herself, was once hers. her health insurance due to a job change Her goal is to provide the “map” her and could have felt hopeless, but she patients need to navigate their diagnoses, didn’t. Through a series of calls she was empower themselves to make informed introduced to the Komen-funded Breast decisions and help reduce and manage Cancer Center at Maricopa Hospital. the stress that comes with the words, Doctors removed a benign cyst and revealed the early stages of a fast-growing “you have breast cancer.”

Rose Rivers | Phoenix

“Through my experience at Cancer Treatment Centers of America®, my family and I learned that super heroes don’t always wear capes.” ~Sara

Cancer Patient

Advanced Treatment for Advanced Cancer It’s difficult to imagine hearing the three words,“you have cancer”just before celebrating your son’s second birthday. Sara and her family turned to Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA) for her care where clinical experts have been fighting advanced cancer for decades.

Because Sara wanted to fight her cancer while still being an active mom to her young son, CTCA assembled a team of cancer experts, her super heroes, who worked with her to create a comprehensive and tailored treatment plan focused both on results and quality of life.

The combined leading-edge oncologic medical treatments with naturopathic medicine, nutrition, rehabilitation, psychological counseling, spiritual support and pain management met her goals. CTCA’s advanced care, whole person approach helped her in the most important battle of her life, without causing her to sacrifice her most important job: Mom. We are different. At CTCA, we put the patient at the center of our care and we never give up.

Today we are proud to be part of Sara’s extended family. Call now to speak with one of our Oncology Information Specialists and learn how we fight cancer like no one else. Call 888-214-9488 or go to cancercenter.com.

No case is typical. You should not expect to experience these results.

© 2012 Rising Tide