October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Think Pink A local resources guide for early detection, education, self-care, support services and more
When cancer strikes the family
Inside
By Heather Bailey
Page 3: We all have to “Think Pink” to make a difference in women’s health Page 4: The importance of annual exams Page 5: Foundation grants for mammograms Page 5: Breast self exams Page 7: Cancer support groups Page 7: Breast density and screening Q&A Page 8: Breast cancer risks Page 9: Barb Recchia and the legacy of Barb’s Race Page 12: Dr. Cynthia Bailey: Moving from surviving to thriving Page 14: The value of philanthropy in supporting health care close to home
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or some, the low point would have been the moment I found myself giving my sister a shot in the butt, crammed in the front seat of the car, on top of a parking garage in Santa Clara with strangers streaming past.
But not for me. In my memories, that was one of the high points, because it was one of the few moments I didn’t feel completely helpless and felt like I was doing something useful. My baby sister Holly was 32 when she found out she had breast cancer. When she told me, my first emotion was disbelief. Some people describe this moment as a punch in the gut. I thought I had simply misheard. When she repeated the dreaded C-word I figured she must not know for sure. I thought, “Oh, she must just be getting a lump tested, and it won’t be cancer.” When she said it a third time, I experienced the sensation of a total absence of oxygen, not just that there wasn’t any, rather that I could no longer take it in, even if it existed. I didn’t cry. Perhaps that’s strange, but I tend to be the “Hold it together and fall apart later” type. What I did know, most clearly even from the first moment, was that my world had just changed forever. I come from a close-knit family. My parents, Vicki and Steve, have been married nearly 50 years, and I’m the
See Family page 10
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The Healdsburg Tribune
Heather Bailey (right) and her sisters Holly (lower left) and Laurel.
The Windsor Times