Community breast care advocates awarded for raising awareness

And the grant award goes to…

Two breast cancer advocates empower women in their communities By Kendra Y. Mims

The Plastic Surgery Foundation (The PSF), the philanthropic arm of ASPS, is committed to supporting organizations that focus on increasing breast reconstruction surgery awareness and education to women and their families. Through The PSF's Breast Reconstruction Awareness Fund, the Charitable Care Grant and the Public Awareness Grant provide financial assistance to organizations supporting uninsured or underinsured women who choose to have their breast(s) reconstructed following a lumpectomy or mastectomy (as a result of a breast cancer diagnosis).

This issue highlights 2019 grant recipients Salem Baptist Church Ministries of Chicago, which provides educational and financial support to women of color who undergo mastectomies, and ALAS-Wings, a Latina association dedicated to empowering Hispanic women about breast reconstruction awareness. The PSF honored these organizations during the 2019 Chicago Breast Reconstruction Awareness Dinner, the second annual fundraising event of its kind. The program will expand to the Bay Area next year.

Show your support and help raise awareness about breast reconstruction options. Donations are applied directly to qualified programs that support breast reconstruction-related research and awareness, and to help non-profit medical organizations providing charitable care to breast reconstruction patients. To donate, please contact Rochelle Jerry at (847) 228-7597 or visit thepsf.org.

WOMEN’S MINISTRY WALKS ALONGSIDE PATIENTS TO RAISE COMMUNITY AWARENESS

In 2006, Salem Baptist Church launched its first walkathon to

raise funds for breast cancer, HIV/ AIDS and domestic violence under the leadership of First Lady Jamell Meeks, director of the church's women’s ministries. In subsequent years, Meeks noticed an increase in phone calls and requests for assistance from women newly diagnosed with breast cancer in the community.

“After the third year, we realized we needed something ongoing for these women, and it wasn’t enough to do something once a year,” she says. “We started our Heart 2 Heart meetings where we come together quarterly to offer seminars and educational events to help women facing breast cancer. We also bring in professionals to talk to them.”

Meeks discovered most of the women who attended Heart 2 Heart were not undergoing breast reconstruction at the time of their mastectomy. Some felt it was too vain to consider reconstruction after breast cancer, while others declined the option due to their religious beliefs – not an uncommon decision for African-American women in the church, she notes.

“We had to talk them through it to help them understand it’s not vanity; it’s part of their healing,” Meeks says. “So, part of our mission is to help women – especially women in church – understand it’s OK to have breast reconstruction.”

Beyond simply raising awareness about breast reconstruction, Meeks saw a need to inform women of their options.

“Sometimes they are shocked and just want the process over without considering the latter,” she says. “They may wonder why no one told them about reconstruction or helped them understand the process or benefits.

“This is why everyone needs an advocate,” she continues. “You can’t see the full picture if you’re in the frame. While you’re going through it, you need someone on the outside to tell you it’s going to be OK and this is something you’ll want later on. These women need to know all of the information upfront and understand all the details.”

To date, the women’s ministry of Salem Baptist Church has raised more than $150,000 through fundraising efforts to help women of color diagnosed with breast cancer in underserved communities receive treatment. Women are not required to join the church to receive financial support or participate in Heart 2 Heart events. Meeks notes some women in their meetings concede they often have to choose between paying for their medication or rent. The ministry walks alongside

First Lady Jamell Meeks accepts the Public Awareness grant from The PSF immediatepast President Arun Gosain, MD.

them to provide them the help they need, she adds.

“With the funds we raise during the walk, we buy medication,” she says. “We provide at least 10 free mammograms every year at local hospitals within our community. We rent a bus and take them on Gilda’s Club trips, so they can get out instead of sitting at home. We offer free Zumba classes. We try to target every area of their life to make it better for them.”

Meeks says The PSF public awareness grant of $9,000 will help their ministry empower and educate women on a bigger scale and further their outreach in the community. As a breast cancer advocate, she says she feels honored and grateful to receive the grant.

“It gives you a boost when you realize people you don’t know are supporting you and believe in what you’re doing,” she says. “It’s definitely an emotional and spiritual lift to the group.” For more information about Salem Baptist Church’s Heart 2 Heart Ministry, visit salemchicago.org.

ALAS-WINGS HELPING LATINA WOMEN SOAR ABOVE BREAST CANCER

Two-time breast cancer survivor Judith Guitelman founded ALASWings in 2011 with a mission to provide breast health awareness,

education and emotional-support programs for underserved and uninsured Latinas diagnosed with breast cancer. Guitelman noticed a shortage of educational and financial resources for the Latino community while volunteering at a breast cancer organization after her first diagnosis in 2005. Her experience engendered a passion to educate and empower Hispanic women facing the same battle.

Over the past eight years, ALASWings expanded to offer a variety of free programs to breast cancer patients and their families, including seven support groups (all facilitated in Spanish), educational programs, yoga sessions and the ALAS on Wheels: The Mobile Salon™ program, which provides prosthetic bras, wigs and prostheses at no cost to breast cancer patients who have limited financial resources. The organization sees several hundred women each year and recently launched its first Spanishspeaking support group for younger survivors, ages 30 to 45. When her breast cancer returned 10 years later, Guitelman discovered the Latino community also lacked information about breast reconstruction. Although she chose a lumpectomy without reconstruction

ALAS-Wings Executive Director Judith Guitelman accepts the Charitable Care grant from The PSF immediate-past President Arun Gosain, MD.

after her first diagnosis, she decided to have a double mastectomy and bilateral reconstruction the second time around. She says her experience taught her the importance of breast reconstruction awareness.

“We were barely talking about reconstruction with Latina women, and we had no information to offer in our support groups,” she says. “Many of the Latina women we see don’t even realize they can have reconstruction after a partial or double mastectomy – or they’re unclear about the different types. I knew I needed to provide resources about reconstruction that we were not offering at that time. As a survivor, I felt it was important to educate women about reconstruction before going through it.”

Guitelman says they’ve witnessed an increase in the number of women undergoing reconstruction since they started raising awareness through their support groups, particularly among their young survivors. Most of the ALAS-Wings survivors are uninsured and ineligible to undergo breast reconstruction. The PSF Charitable Care Grant of $10,000 will allow the organization to establish a breast reconstruction fund for uninsured Latina breast cancer survivors. The fund will cover medical expenses, including 3-D nipple tattooing, implants, childcare and transportation.

“A lot of women who come to us can’t afford to pay someone to watch their children while they go to their procedure, and they don’t have money to see a doctor,” Guitelman explains. “As an organization, we’re grateful to receive the support so that we have the funding to help. Many of our younger survivors are finishing their reconstruction and we can help them complete the process.”

Guitelman says most women in African-American and Latino communities typically don’t consider reconstruction after hearing they have breast cancer, but she believes raising awareness will help them understand the benefits, so they can make the right choice for them.

“You just want the cancer out of your body,” she says. “I just wanted to be cancer-free. I didn’t think much about reconstruction, but after I had it, my quality of life and selfesteem improved. I started liking my body again, and that’s the feeling I want other women going through this to find.” For more information about ALAS-Wings, visit alas-wings.org.