2016 pink zone

10

Y E A RS STRONG

PINK Z NE 2016

A Special Supplement to Town&Gown

CONTENTS 6 FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 8

JOINING THE FIGHT The Lady Lions took up the cause against breast cancer 10 years ago, and since then, a growing number of people have helped them with their efforts • by Jennifer James

14 NOW WHAT?

A breast-cancer diagnosis can

lead to many questions, options,

and support • by Jodi Morelli 24

TRANSPORTATION FROM THE HEART AND FOR THE FIGHT Fullington participates in breast- cancer battle by bringing survivors to Pink Zone game • by Lianne Galante

28 AFTER THE CANCER

Survivors may deal with various

side effects following treatment

• by Jodi Morelli 36 COALITION FOR THE FIGHT PBCC helps the cause with

research and legislative action

• by Pennsylvania Breast Cancer

Coalition

40 LUNCH WITH MIMI

Longtime breast-cancer survivor

continues to enjoy life in her 90s 44

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER Breast-cancer patients should feel in control about the choices they make • By David Arbutina, MD, FACS

4 - Pink Zone 2016

SURVIVOR PROFILES 18 CHERYL DELSITE 20 MARY MCCAHAN 32 MISTY FREDERICK-RITZ 34 TORI WILT

Chuck Carroll

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR A Decade of Strength: Pink Zone celebrates 10 years of helping the fight against breast cancer

BY MIRIAM POWELL “10 Years Strong.” That’s our tagline for Pink Zone 2016. Short. Simple. Powerful.

I first spoke these words last April when discussing this year’s shirt design with the graphic art students at Penn State. I wanted to convey to them that the 10th anniversary was an important component to this year’s event. One of those students took that phrase to heart, and now it is emblazoned on the back of each official Pink Zone 2016 signature shirt.

Initially, it was the “10 years” that I wanted to stress, but truly the heart of that statement lies in “strong.” In keeping with the theme, and in honoring our anniversary, I want to highlight 10 reasons we have grown so strong over the decade. Please note, our success is in no way limited to these 10 elements. The full list is endless. I want to add another disclaimer by stating that these 10 factors are listed in no particular order and have no hierarchical rating.

Each one is equally important to the next in shaping Pink Zone and in helping us get to where we are today.

1. Our Communities. I make that plural because there are a number of communities within the growing footprint of Pink Zone.

These communities embrace the spirit of Pink Zone year after year through their generosity, enthusiasm, and connection to the cause.

Locally, in State College, we are currently Painting the Corner Pink from now until game day. You can stop in at The Corner Room, Allen Street Grill, Bill Pickle’s Tap Room, or the Student Book Store and buy a pink ribbon to support Pink Zone. Last year, Otto’s Pub & Brewery dedicated the Pink Ribbon Tree to the cause.

Trying to name all of our community partners would be impossible, but we understand the value of each one as it relates to our growth and success.

2. Our Sponsors and Donors. We truly believe that no amount donated to Pink Zone is too small. Those donations come in many forms, 6 - Pink Zone 2016

The volunteer “butlers” at the Pink Zone’s fashion show in October are one of the many reasons Pink Zone continues to gain strength in its fight against breast cancer.

including providing auction items, purchasing a Pink Zone shirt, participating in the 1-mile fun run, etc. We have a number of loyal sponsors each year that overwhelm us with their monetary and in-kind gifts. Those that make a donation or support us by taking part in community fundraisers are every bit as important to our growth. We cannot do it without you!

3. Buses. Each year at the Pink Zone game, the visual that gets me every time is that caravan of buses, filled with breast-cancer survivors and their families, pulling up to the Bryce Jordan Center prior to tip-off. There’s a lump in my throat just thinking about it! I cannot imagine where we would be without Fullington Trailways and the plethora of other bus companies they have pulled into the mix.

4. Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics.

Each year, Penn State offers breast-cancer survivors up to four complimentary tickets to the Pink Zone game. In addition, anytime someone purchases a single-game ticket for Pink Zone, Penn State athletics donates $4 back to the cause. Penn State ICA is instrumental in our fundraising as it relates directly to the Pink Zone game. There also is a long list of athletic teams outside of Lady Lion basketball that host Pink Zone games and events to support the cause and add to our fundraising success. We Are …

5. The Pink Zone Board of Directors.

This collection of philanthropic-minded volunteers who steer our ship is remarkable. Our current board includes Courtney Buckel, Joel Diamond, Linda Gall, Aileen Galley, Marie Hardin, Cheryl Harrison, Carol Herrmann, Jennifer James, Bob

Levy, Kim Neely, Kristie Patterson, Todd Sloan, and Coquese Washington. Being in the presence of these individuals is an honor and a privilege.

I draw strength from their passion and integrity every time we meet.

6. Our Pink Zone Beneficiaries. No one captures the spirit of Pink Zone and strengthens our mission more than our six beneficiaries.

At Mount Nittany Medical Center, we continue to support the position of the breast-health navigator. The Lady Lion Basketball Breast Cancer Research Endowment at the Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute carries a price tag of more than $278,000 to support pilot research in the field of breast cancer. The Kay Yow Cancer Fund continues its work in funding research and in providing mobile mammography units to the underserved and uninsured in their region.

The PA Breast Cancer Coalition will be using Pink Zone dollars to provide scholarships for breast-cancer survivors who otherwise could not afford to attend the annual PBCC conference in Harrisburg. J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital will be purchasing updated software for their 3D mammography equipment in order to reduce compression time and allow for lower-dose radiation during a mammogram. At GeisingerLewistown Hospital, Pink Zone funds will assist in the purchase of a breast coil for the new MRI system there. The money from our sponsors and donors is making an impact in our communities thanks to our beneficiaries.

7. Penn State Students. From the Pink Zone Student Organization on campus to the graphic art classes that design our shirts year after year, the students at Penn State are critical in our success. They “pink out” the HUB before each Pink Zone game, the student organization has teamed up with Morgan Stanley to hold a 1-mile fun run/walk in the spring (mark your calendar for April 3, 2016), and they work with other peer groups to spread awareness and generate excitement for Pink Zone. We have students who serve as volunteers and interns within the organization, as well. It also might be important to mention that over the last four years, the Pink Zone Student Organization has raised more than $70,000 for the cause. These students are standing strong in the fight against breast cancer!

8. Penn State Lady Lion Basketball Players, Coaches, and Staff. Pink Zone

is much more than pink jerseys and matching sneakers. Pink Zone goes beyond a 40-minute basketball game. No one understands that more than these women and men. The Lady Lions play every game with heart, but they also understand that they play for something bigger than themselves when it comes to the Pink Zone game. The whole bench is in the game and behind the cause. We are grateful that they give us the platform of this event and the BJC arena to elevate the cause and unite for a cure.

9. Our Volunteers. Wow! We are blessed to have our network of Pink Zone volunteers.

Aside from the executive director position and our part-time administrative assistant, Pink Zone is a volunteer-run organization. I cannot believe the time and effort our countless volunteers put into making sure that each Pink Zone event is a success. They are truly ambassadors for the cause, and they are not afraid to think outside the box. They also are incredibly good sports when considering the sacrifices we sometimes expect them to make or the jobs we hope they will tackle, all in the name of a good cause.

Honestly, I cannot put a price tag on the value of each individual that battles in the trenches for Pink Zone.

10. Breast-Cancer Survivors. “Strong” is an understatement when you consider this group. When the Lady Lions hosted the first Think Pink game in 2007, there were 31 breastcancer survivors on the court during the halftime celebration. Fast-forward to 2015, and we were trying to figure out how to make room for the 730 breast-cancer survivors that had registered to attend. This is a good problem to have! I marvel at the strength these women and men display at halftime as they raise those numbers indicating the years, months, or even days that they have been cancer-free. When you watch them embrace one another like family and share that moment to celebrate their courage, the strength and emotion we all feel is indescribable.

We talk about the fight against breast cancer in all that we do for Pink Zone. To fight, you have to be strong. The sources of our strength are vast and varied and certainly not limited to the 10 listed here. In the end, we cannot have one source without the others. They are all connected, giving us hope, making a difference, and inspiring us as 10 Years Strong!

2016 Pink Zone - 7

JOINING THE FIGHT The Lady Lions took up the cause against breast cancer 10 years ago, and since then, a growing number of people have helped them with their efforts

BY JENNIFER JAMES In the summer of 2006, Lady Lion basketball head coach Rene Portland, Lady Lion director of marketing Loren Crispell, and I sat down to brainstorm on ways to use a gift. That gift was $5,000 in “Super Fan” money, a program that the Big Ten had initiated to help member institutions drive interest and attention to their women’s basketball programs. A simple proposal was all that was needed to apply for this money.

After going through the popular but well-used ideas such as buying $5,000 of tickets or T-shirts to give away to drum up attendance, Rene began thinking of something different. She had something more colorful in mind — the color pink, to be exact! She dreamed of taking that $5,000 and purchasing pink uniforms that would be worn by the Lady Lions and their opponent for a special game — a game to honor breast-cancer survivors, a game to raise money for finding a cure, a game to advance awareness about this fight.

And the very first Lady Lion Think Pink game was born!

8 - Pink Zone 2016

Penn State Athletic Communications (3)

The Pink Zone game has become the biggest game on the Lady Lions’ schedule each season.

In late 2006, plans for Think Pink days at other schools began to take shape, rallying around one of women’s basketball’s own. North Carolina State coach Kay Yow was making a return to her beloved game after a second battle with breast cancer. Her first game back was the Sunday before our game. When asked why we were “a week late” in hosting our game, we simply replied “because we were that far ahead in our planning!”

On February 4, 2007, the Lady Lions took on Wisconsin in our first battle representing much more than the game on the court. The Lady Lions scored a victory over the Badgers, along with celebrating the 31 breast-cancer survivors, there as our guests, in a special halftime ceremony.

Our fans participated, as well. With the Penn State Bookstore as our partner, the Lady Lions offered official Think Pink T-shirts for fans to wear that day, with proceeds from the sales going to the Think Pink fund.

More than $20,000 was raised, and the Lady Lions made history as the first team in the country to wear pink uniforms!

The next few years saw substantial jumps in our number of survivors, going from 31 to 90 to 131, as word spread about our special game. However, our fundraising needle really began to move after partnering with Mimi Barash Coppersmith. A breast-cancer survivor herself, Mimi has been a founding supporter of this event financially since day one. In 2009, she officially

joined our planning committee and provided us with the grounding we needed to take this event to the next level. She pushed us to set fundraising and game-attendance goals as well as a goal for the number of survivors. She helped us understand the importance of working with each beneficiary to establish a tangible project for our donations — something concrete that we could use to sell sponsors on why they should donate their money to our particular cause.

After only two years, we reached our $100,000 goal with the Mount Nittany Medical Center for the creation of the Lady Lion Basketball Cancer Resource Center in the Shaner Cancer Pavilion.

We donated more than $84,000 in 2011 alone — almost hitting our mark after one year’s game!

I can distinctly remember the day that I took that $84,000 check to Mount Nittany with a sense of pride in what we had accomplished, along with the hope for what that money would help accomplish in the future!

In the years that followed, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) developed a new logo and catchphrase for the cause: the WBCA Pink Zone. The WBCA became fully vested in helping all levels of girls’ and women’s basketball teams organize their own Pink Zone games across the country. It eventually partnered with the Jimmy V Foundation to form the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.

Coincidentally, as Pink Zone was outgrowing the WBCA, we were outgrowing the Lady Lion basketball office. In 2011, we formed a new local organization, the Pennsylvania Pink Zone, and hired our very first employee, executive director Miriam Powell.

Miriam was just the catalyst that we needed after five years. She gave us direction and purpose to focus on our fast-paced growth in number of survivors, game attendance, and fundraising. She brought our plans together to springboard our growth even further, setting records over the last three Pink Zones with 14,173 in game attendance in 2013, $310,000 net proceeds raised in 2014, and 730 survivors registered in 2015. But one of Miriam’s best attributes is her ability to cultivate key partnerships with Pink Zone. Whether it is with our beneficiaries, volunteers, local businesses, or new and returning sponsors, Miriam has a special gift in bringing us together for this cause.

I am particularly proud of all of these partnerships. With our beneficiaries, we have since created a Lady Lion Basketball Breast Cancer Research Endowment at Penn State’s Hershey Cancer Institute that was activated after only two year’s worth of donations. It will now be funded forever to offer seed-money grants to young researchers with novel ideas for the fight against breast cancer.

The Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition, another partner from day one, has an office van wrapped in bright pink and emblazoned with its logo plus two large Penn State athletics marks on the side windows proudly proclaiming that this van is made possible by the Penn State Lady Lion Basketball Pink Zone. We love to hear the stories from the PBCC staff about the honks, the smiles, and pictures that are taken with that van in their travels across the state. We also love to learn about the successes with small, local communityhospital beneficiaries such as J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital and Lewistown-Geisinger Hospital. They are able to use the Pink Zone platform to jumpstart fundraising in their towns. Pink Zone gives them access to matching grants and programs that previously never had funding. Finally, Penn State will continue to donate a portion of funds raised to the Kay Yow Fund in keeping with our ties to women’s basketball and in Coach Yow’s memory. In 2013 and 2014, Penn State’s Pink Zone was recognized as the Play for Kay Initiative Division I winner.

Locally, we have partnered with Penn State professor Lanny Sommese’s graphics arts students in a class challenge to design the official Pink Zone T-shirts that the Penn State Bookstore still sells for us. It remains one of our main fundraising efforts. Additionally, Fullington Trailways truly made us a statewide event when 2016 Pink Zone - 9

they offered up free buses for survivors and their guests to attend the annual game. Besides the on-court ceremony at halftime, the other mustsee on game day is the caravan of 15 buses with the hundreds of excited survivors and their families and friends pulling up on Curtin Road.

Our partnership list would not be complete without mentioning the local businesses such as Otto’s Pub & Brewery and its Pink Ribbon Tree last holiday season and Kish Bank, who hosts our Pink Eve event. And who doesn’t love our float in the Penn State Homecoming Parade — Centre Concrete’s pink cement mixer!

Pink Zone has brought together people from all walks of life, from college deans Nan Crouter of Health and Human Development and Marie Hardin of the School of Communications to local survivor, author, speaker, and auctioneer Tammy Miller, who taught us laughter is very well the best medicine. A very special recognition goes to the hundreds of volunteers who help us during the year and Grace Small, commander of this incredible army.

But my favorite part of my involvement with Pink Zone are the stories that we hear from the

Proud Supporter of the Pink Zone!

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10 - Pink Zone 2016

survivors. We were in awe over the story of how a woman currently going through treatment for breast cancer is inspired dancing next to a 5-, 10-, or 20-year-plus survivor. Another is from a group of Girl Scouts in attendance one year, one of whose mother was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after our game. When they first spoke of the cancer, the young girl proudly told her mother that she knew she would get better and that she would now be able to dance down on the court with their Girl Scout leader, another survivor, at the Pink Zone game.

If what we do on our game day makes it that much easier for a daughter to believe that her mom would win this battle and be okay, what more could we ask?

We have close ties with survivors, starting in our Lady Lion basketball office with administrative assistant Mary McCahan, a 15-year survivor. One of my favorite halftime pictures is of Mary coming through the friends and family tunnel to center court with her pink boa and the biggest and brightest smile on her face! At that game, my job was to stand at the end of the tunnel to direct the 131 survivors to their next spot. I feel like I

The 2014 Pink Zone raised a record $310,000.

ended up hugging every third woman through that line — and I never realized that I knew that many survivors!

Through Pink Zone, we have made new friends whom we see at other games and conferences while promoting our event. We have watched daughters of survivors grow up in these last 10 years. They have cheered us on from the stands, participated in our basketball summer camps, and at least three attend Penn State now!

I cannot believe we have reached the 10th Pink Zone event. It seems like just yesterday we were having that initial conversation with

Wisconsin and the NCAA about going out of the norm and requesting permission to don those first pink uniforms. Throughout all of the great partnerships and stories, we have had a few setbacks. We have lost friends to this dreaded disease, such as Karen Dwyer-Jones, whom we met through the PBCC conference as a survivor but who volunteered each year on game day.

We also lost Jen Bickel, a nurse at Mount Nittany who was the first person to talk about her courageous battle with the Lady Lion team on a day they toured the facility.

We work hard to celebrate the survivors with us on game day, but also honor the memory of those who fought so hard and lost. Our partnerships help us work year-round to prepare for each Pink Zone game, and my pledge is that our biggest and best Pink Zone ever will be when we have found the cure!

Jennifer James is an assistant athletic director at Penn State and a founding member of Pink Zone/ Think Pink events at Penn State. She also was a Lady Lion basketball manager from 1987 to 1992.

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NOW WHAT? A breast-cancer diagnosis can lead to many questions, options, and support

Mount Nittany Health (2)

BY JODI MORELLI

The Lady Lion Basketball Cancer Resource Center at Mount Nittany Medical Center offers a library of books and information for patients and their families.

Overwhelmed. Vulnerable. Alone.

These are just a few words that can be used to describe the way a woman might feel upon receiving a diagnosis that she has breast cancer. Some women might wonder or ask the question, “Why me?”

But almost always, when a woman hears the news that she has breast cancer, what comes to mind immediately is this: What happens now?

While women are dealing with a range of emotions, from shock to sadness to fear, there are steps to take and decisions to make. Stress is high during this time, and having to make sense of complex medical treatments and determining the best course of action only adds more anxiety and confusion to an already difficult situation.

Even though she was diagnosed with breast cancer more than 20 years ago, Linda Lochbaum of State College remembers receiving the news. Lochbaum, now a retired nurse, clearly recalls the rush of emotions, especially when she was going through the biopsy and the waiting and worrying that followed.

“I got the news, and thought, ‘Not me!’

As a nurse, I knew the oncologist. He told 14 - Pink Zone 2016

me, ‘Linda, I will take care of you.’ I had a great deal of support from my family and my coworkers at the hospital,” she says.

When a lump or other breast abnormality is detected, a biopsy, or removing a sample of tissue from the breast to examine for cancer cells, is the first step in determining whether or not a woman has cancer, according to Eileen Maney, physician assistant at Geisinger.

“Biopsy leads to diagnosis. Everyone who goes through biopsy expects some news, whether good or bad,” she says.

Similar to Lochbaum, women are obviously anxious while waiting for their biopsy results.

Upon receiving news that the biopsy reveals breast cancer, the immediate reaction is often shock, Maney says. However, she says that medical professionals are there from the point of diagnosis to offer support, resources, and anything else needed. According to Maney, at the time of diagnosis, patients are given a folder filled with an abundance of information and resources. She says that medical providers will help to coordinate the next steps with the patients, which typically means setting up a meeting with a surgeon to determine the treatment plan.

A key person in this process who is there alongside of a patient each step of the way is a medical professional called a “navigator.”

Navigation services are free and are offered to guide patients through the cancercare continuum — from diagnosis through survivorship — while being the central point of contact for a patient and coordinating all components involved in cancer care.

Becky Reinhard is a nurse navigator for Geisinger, and in this role, she works with cancer patients to assist them from the moment they are diagnosed. She helps to coordinate appointments and testing for each patient and helps to guide them through resources and support.

“Diagnosis can come in different ways,” she says. “Everyone is a little bit different and will have different needs, depending on the pathology. With some patients, I will be there more continuously than others.

Every patient is unique, so I listen to hear what it is they need from me to help them

through this process.”

Angelique Cygan is the breast-health navigator for Mount Nittany Medical Center, and she says that her position is dedicated to overall breast health. In addition to providing support and resources to patients, she says she helps women remove barriers to care, which means helping them to understand what is happening and to try and provide some peace of mind.

She is available to meet with women at the time of biopsy and says the time that follows is the “dreadful wait period.” Based on biopsy results, she will discuss with patients what types of options they have been given. She says it is important to review with patients what they have already been told. Because this is such an emotional time for women, she feels it is necessary to revisit information and make sure that everyone is using the same language. She says that if different providers are using different terminology, this can cause added stress and confusion. Confirming understanding with each patient is vitally important, she says.

“We know the patient’s medical team is providing every bit of information to the patient, but during this process, not all information is retained,” she says. “This is where navigation comes in. We have to be careful how much information we are giving to the patient at different points in the process. At some points, too much information can be more overwhelming than helpful, so we have learned to take our cues from the patient as to what they are ready and able to absorb.”

After a patient meets with a surgeon, and if she goes through surgery, a patient will wait again to receive the pathology report and find out the staging of cancer. Depending on this report, the course of treatment will be determined. Typically, there will be chemotherapy or radiation treatments, which bring with them another phase of anxiety for the patients. Chemotherapy treatments are cyclical, and radiation can be six weeks or longer of daily treatments. Both of these courses of treatment often present obstacles, such as time off of work, transportation issues, and even financial burdens.

“Women may have barriers to treatment, so after receiving the pathology report, we might have to revisit all the resources available to them. Oncology does a great job with ‘chemo talks,’ which give patients an understanding of what to expect from chemotherapy. The American Cancer Society (ACS) gives free wigs … there are so many resources in our community. We just need to make sure patients are aware of them and know how to access them,” Cygan says.

When undergoing chemotherapy or radiation, transportation to these appointments may be an issue for women.

Again, there are resources available to help. Some patients may be traveling a long distance for treatment. Some may lack access to a car or might have difficulty paying for gas to get to their appointments.

Through ACS, volunteers assist in providing transportation, which can be an enormous relief to women. Additionally, Cygan says that the community has many generous donors who support patients by offering gas cards and discounted hotel rates.

Another important resource available to women is a local support group, which meets monthly at Mount Nittany Medical Center. The group consists of those who are newly diagnosed to those who have been survivors for several years. For those who are unable to attend the group meetings, there is an e-mail support group available, according to Cygan.

“Support groups are where women realize that they’re not alone,” she says. “Just talking to other people who are going through the same thing as they are sometimes prompts a woman to ask good, smart questions of their medical providers. Often, when they are going through this, a question can be so simple that they miss it. … To witness the sharing of information is very powerful … what stands out to me most is the strength of these women.”

In her role as navigator, Cygan says she offers follow-up phone calls and visits and waits behind the scenes to see if a patient needs guidance and support on what to do next.

She stresses the importance of taking 2016 Pink Zone - 15

Cygan says she takes her cues from a patient as to what information “they are ready and able to absorb.”

her cues from the patient, as each woman’s needs will be different. Depending on a woman’s specific situation, Cygan might suggest home health services, introduce them to the Lady Lion Basketball Cancer Resource Center at Mount Nittany Medical Center (which offers an extensive library

16 - Pink Zone 2016

of books and information), or give advice on “safe” Web sites to visit, such as breastcancer.org and cancer.org. Sometimes a woman might need to go through physical therapy or get prosthetics, and navigation services provide help with this, as well.

In helping women navigate through their breast-cancer battle, Cygan says it is often simply giving women whatever it is they need to take care of themselves both physically and emotionally.

“Typically, women put themselves last,” she says. “Especially during this journey, they need to put themselves first. They desire that their lives won’t change … that they will keep working and parenting and caring for homes and families as they did before. But chemo can be exhausting, and radiation can be time-consuming. These women need to give themselves permission to make their top priority caring for themselves.”

Jodi Morelli is a freelance writer who lives in Pleasant Gap with her husband and two children.

Profiles of local women, coverage of issues affecting women, interviews with local women, tips on health and wellness for women…

It’s all in the Centre County Gazette’s Women’s Corner monthly feature.

Women’s Corner Publishes the fourth week of each month brings you information to enhance your life.

We cover what’s important to you!

814-238-5051 • www.centrecountygazette.com 2016 Pink Zone - 17

SURVIVOR Darren Andrew Weimert

BY SARAH HARTEIS

Cheryl Delsite was 29 years old with no historical trace of breast cancer when she noticed a small lump in her breast during a self-exam. Thinking it was nothing to be concerned about, she waited six months to have the doctor check it out during her annual exam.

“He felt it was just a fibroid and referred me to a surgeon,” she explains. “The surgeon tried a needle biopsy. When he couldn’t get anything with the needle, he recommended removing it.”

Delsite, 53, scheduled surgery for March 6, 1991, to remove the lump. That day, before her doctor was finished with the surgery, the preliminary pathology report came back — Delsite had stage 1 breast cancer.

When asked how her family reacted to the news, two words come to her mind.

“Shock and disbelief,” she says. “I was 18 - Pink Zone 2016

Cheryl Delsite young with no history. I had only been married three years, and we were just starting a family.”

Shortly after the diagnosis, she found out she was pregnant. Unfortunately, the pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage, but, as she states, “The Lord saw fit to give me three children later.”

In regard to treatment, she endured one thing right after the next. She had a biopsy in March, a mastectomy in April, and began four rounds of chemotherapy that started in May. She had her first reconstruction in December, when doctors put in an expander, and she had her first implant placed in January.

“My husband, parents, in-laws, friends, and coworkers were all big supports for me,” she recalls.

Her support system had ensured that she was placed on prayer chains all across the country, checked in to see that she made all her medical appointments, and always made sure that she had enough to eat.

“My workmates sent a basket of little presents,” she says. “There was one to be opened every day for a couple of weeks.”

She also is very thankful for Pink Zone executive director Miriam Powell and her Pink Zone committee for their dedication to events supporting breast-cancer awareness and research.

In addition to her support system, she says that she relied heavily on her faith through prayer.

Today, Delsite, of Sunbury, has been free of cancer for almost 25 years. Looking back, she recalls her journey as having been “interesting.”

“I have met a lot of people that I would not have met if I hadn’t had cancer,” she says. “It is hard for me to remember a time before breast cancer. I really wonder how my life would be if I had not had cancer.”

2016 Pink Zone - 19

SURVIVOR Darren Andrew Weimert

BY SARAH HARTEIS

It was that time of year for her annual mammogram, and, as it had been in years past, Mary McCahan, wasn’t expecting anything to come of the routine appointment. She remembers feelings of fear taking over her when she was diagnosed with cancer — ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).

“I was scared, not knowing what I was going to go through,” she explains. “After the initial shock of hearing the diagnosis, I was able to find comfort in my family’s support.”

To treat the cancer, McCahan, 60, of Tyrone, underwent a surgical procedure

20 - Pink Zone 2016

Mary McCahan called a lumpectomy followed by 30 rounds of radiation. Following the radiation, she was prescribed Tamoxifen for the next five years.

Although she was exhausted and the treatment seemed endless, her biggest supporters, she remembers, were her husband, daughters, and sister.

“They made it possible for me to focus on beating this,” she says. “Whatever I needed, they were there.”

She also says she made it through that difficult time with the help of her church family and through the power of prayer.

During her journey, her biggest struggle was simply coming to the realization that she had breast cancer. She was the first person in her family to be diagnosed and had a hard time believing her diagnosis was true.

Now that she’s been cancer-free for 15 years, she would describe her experience as having been “something that you never want anyone to go through.” If she could advise those being treated today, she would tell them to surround themselves with positive people who will bring them a sense of hope and happiness.

Although she does not wish her experience upon anyone, she admits that it has helped her to relate better to and help those around her going through the same thing.

“Having had breast cancer has made me more aware of what people who are diagnosed with cancer are going through and allows me to better understand their needs,” she explains. “I have also learned that life is precious, and we shouldn’t take it for granted.”

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2016 Pink Zone - 21

TRANSPORTATION FROM THE HEART AND FOR THE FIGHT Fullington participates in breast-cancer battle by bringing survivors to Pink Zone game

BY LIANNE GALANTE

Contributed photos (3)

As the Pink Zone hits its 10th year, a vital part of the Pink Zone game has been survivors from across the state receiving free bus transportation thanks to Fullington Bus Company and six other companies.

Each year, buses bring survivors, their families, and supporters to the Bryce Jordan Center. More than 700 survivors attended last year’s game. This year, 18 buses will converge on Penn State January 17 for the annual Pink Zone game featuring the Lady Lions and Michigan.

“Every year, I continue to ask myself, why I stay involved, as I often think I’m going around in circles,” says Jackie Rhoades of Fullington Bus Company. “At intermission, when you see 700 survivors standing center

court holding up signs that say anywhere from six months up to 30 years, I know that is why I do it.”

Michael Dull, who also works for Fullington, adds, “Everyone in one way or another has been affected, has been touched by the disease. In my case, my mother is a breastcancer survivor. I can honor her and the courage and fight it took to survive cancer by being part of such a great cause. I can venture to say that is why many of us are involved in this.”

Dull also has a grandmother who is a breast-cancer survivor. While breast cancer hasn’t touched Rhoades, her father died from throat cancer.

The disease also has impacted the Fullington family directly. Owner Mike Fullington had a sister, Ariel, die from ovarian cancer a few years ago. That drove home the cause even more, and the company decided to install a fully wrapped bus in a pink design and dedicate it in honor of Ariel and others touched by cancer.

But it is not just the impact cancer has had on everyone that inspires them to become involved. It’s also being able to see the joy and inspiration the event provides for the survivors and their families.

“When these women go through all this,

For the 2016 Pink Zone game, 18 buses filled with breast-cancer survivors, their families, and supporters will pull up to the Bryce Jordan Center.

24 - Pink Zone 2016

there is not much fun or much they can look forward to,” says Rhoades. “This is a day where they can go and see people who have survived — a six-month survivor can see a 30year survivor and think, ‘I can do this.’ And it’s a fun event — the university makes this fun.”

That is one of Rhoades’s and Dull’s favorite parts — seeing how enjoyable this event is for the survivors and knowing that they will return.

“We see some of the same faces every year,” Dull says. “They do look forward to this event because it does give them an uplifting experience, knowing there are others out there that care about them.”

Fullington Bus Company is in charge of taking all the reservations for itself and the six other bus companies involved, which is no easy feat. Last-minute cancellations require shifting, juggling, and having to move people around. Coordination is everything. To deal with the sometimes stressfulness of the event, Rhoades and Dull remember to remain flexible and to keep the end result in mind.

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Seth Barrett (left) and Alayna Roberts, whose mother is a breast-cancer survivor, enjoy time on the bus to the 2014 Pink Zone game.

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gung-ho and ready to do this,” says Rhoades.

“It is well worth it. I walk out of there every year knowing I’m going to do it again next year.”

Dull continues, “It’s not about what we’re doing as a company, it is about what we’re giving back to those who survived and continue to survive.”

While Fullington takes part in some highprofile events, including the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and presidential inaugurations (Dull will not tell you this himself, but he was in charge of driving First Lady Michelle Obama’s family to the 2013

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AFTER THE CANCER Survivors may deal with various side effects following treatment

Mount Nittany Health

BY JODI MORELLI

Lynn Whittaker (center), nurse practitioner with Cancer Care Partnership, and Kayla Neff (left), a nurse with Cancer Care Partnership, speak with a patient.

For breast-cancer survivors, the diagnosis and treatment that follow are just part of their journey to wellness. Although successfully completing treatment signifies the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel,” sometimes this phase of the journey elicits new emotions and experiences for survivors.

“Once treatment is over, it’s not over.

Effects can linger for a while. The emotional effects might not hit until treatment ends.

It’s important for family and friends to be supportive,” according to Eileen Maney, physician assistant with Geisinger.

When a woman’s medical treatment for breast cancer is technically finished, she suddenly finds herself disconnected from her oncologist and other providers whom she has seen consistently for a significant period of time. When these visits drop off, it can cause anxiety.

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“When someone gets diagnosed, she is in ‘fighter mode.’ She has a lot of work to do, and that’s what her focus is. When treatment ends, sometimes it sinks in, and she realizes what she has been through,” Maney says.

Becky Reinhard, cancer-nurse navigator at Geisinger, concurs that there is a different level of anxiety when women are not actively in the treatment phase. She says there might be feelings that they are not doing something they should be doing if they are no longer seeing their oncologist regularly. Women sometimes find it difficult to be disconnected from their oncologist and transition back to their primarycare physician.

“Women may experience worry when they get a cold after they have finished treatment.

They wonder, ‘Do I call my oncologist or my primary-care doctor?’ They may be concerned that things are related to their cancer,” according to Lynn Whittaker, nurse practitioner with Cancer Care Partnership, a partnership between Mount Nittany Health and Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute.

Linda Lochbaum, a retired nurse and breast-cancer survivor, remembers being aware of every little ache and pain she felt, and that each time, she wondered if it was related to her cancer.

“You know you’re feeling better when a headache is just a headache,” she says.

According to Whittaker, an emerging endeavor in oncology, called survivorship care planning, is to improve the quality of care for survivors as they move beyond their cancer treatment. This is in line with the American Cancer Society’s Web site, cancer.org. Survivorship care plans help patients record details of their cancer treatment, discuss posttreatment needs with their health-care providers, gain awareness of short- and long-term posttreatment side effects, and assist in developing a plan to address needs and concerns of posttreatment survivorship and follow-up care.

“Survivorship starts at the time of diagnosis; however, survivorship is a continuum of living with, through, and beyond cancer. It is not just about the survivor, but everyone who is part of the woman’s support

memory loss or cognitive changes can occur for a brief period of time, but will likely improve. Lymphedema, or swelling that generally occurs in arms or legs, also is a common physical side effect that women can experience as a result of cancer treatment, as is neuropathy (numbness and tingling in the fingers and toes).

In some cases, women might experience longer-term physical effects after treatment, including organ damage, which can affect the heart, kidneys, or liver, according to Whittaker. Osteoporosis can be caused by hormone therapy, as it can cause a loss of bone density. Whittaker says that pain caused by surgery or other factors can be an issue. Other long-term physical effects that might surface include sexual dysfunction, body-image issues resulting from reconstructive surgery, and the possibility of infertility issues.

system,” Whittaker says.

She says that needs and issues that could surface in life after treatment can be put into three main categories: financial/legal, physical, and emotional/social.

Financial/Legal While not as prevalent as the physical and emotional side effects women experience after treatment, financial and/or legal issues can present difficulties.

“Some women don’t have the means to take off work. Even with insurance, medical treatment is expensive. Some women may be referred to other facilities for their medical issues,” Whittaker says.

She adds that the cost of missing work, travel, and sometimes lodging and food expenses that crop up when women need to seek additional services can present significant financial hardships. She says that women often worry about their job security, and, as far as legal issues, she refers to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as a means to ensure that a woman’s rights are protected.

Emotional/Social In addition to physical symptoms that can occur after treatment, women also may experience a variety of emotions.

Physical According to Whittaker, a common Many physical side effects can occur after emotional response is a heightened anxiety a woman completes treatment. A common related to the “new normal.” Whether it’s a fear physical side effect that many women of recurrence or the emotions that surface experience is fatigue. Reinhard says that women with the anniversary of a diagnosis or surgery, might get a hormone blocker that is effective at anxiety is prevalent immediately following preventing recurrence of cancer but can cause treatment and, often, for years that follow. fatigue and menopausal types of symptoms.

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responses can include grief and loss. A woman may report a change in the sense of self due to changes in body image. Others mourn the loss of events they missed while in treatment. For some, depending on age, they may face the loss of fertility.

“Emotions need to be processed, and it might be necessary to seek counseling,” Whittaker says. “Women might feel OK for a brief period of time, then might suddenly experience some depression. When they recognize those signs of depression, it’s OK to acknowledge those feelings.”

Relationships are another facet to these emotional effects, as friends and loved ones want nothing more than for the cancer to be over and view the end of treatment as a sign that life can finally return to normal. They might be confused and not know how to respond when the survivor is still feeling anxious, depressed, or fearful, even after having successfully completed treatment.

“In terms of relationships, these can be a challenge,” Whittaker says. “Some women will withdraw, others might use humor, others

might not want to talk about it. Still others will experience ‘survivor guilt’ when confronted with people who have a worse prognosis.”

Lochbaum says that, even though her diagnosis of breast cancer came more than 20 years ago, she is and always will be a breast-cancer survivor. In fact, her work with the Cancer Survivors’ Association is one of the things that keeps her going.

According to Whittaker, “Once breast cancer happens, a woman’s outlook about life completely changes, and she views things in different ways. The patients I see are so strong.

They have a newfound appreciation for life.”

For women who have experienced the journey of breast-cancer diagnosis and treatment, Lochbaum has this advice: “Spend time with family. Go out to dinner with friends.

Exercise. Take care of yourself. If you let cancer consume you, it will. Don’t withdraw from the rest of your life, because no one knows what tomorrow will bring.”

Jodi Morelli is a freelance writer who lives in Pleasant Gap with her husband and two children.

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SURVIVOR Darren Andrew Weimert

BY SARAH HARTEIS

It was 1998 when Misty Frederick-Ritz, an active 38-year-old woman, was training to run her first 5K when she began to feel pain in her left breast. Assuming the small lump was merely a cyst, she casually made an appointment with her family doctor.

She had her first mammogram the day of her appointment — she was not prepared for the news she would soon hear. Concerned by the results, the doctors performed an immediate ultrasound and biopsy. Within hours, FrederickRitz was informed that she had stage 1 cancer — highly aggressive, triple negative, invasive ductal carcinoma, to be exact.

“To say I was shocked is an understatement,” says Frederick-Ritz, 55, of State College. “I don’t really think the English language has an appropriate word to describe how you feel when you get the news you have cancer.”

As a mother of two, she immediately started thinking about her children. She remembers begging God for more time with them to see 32 - Pink Zone 2016

Misty Frederick-Ritz them grow up, go to college, and get married.

She wanted to be a grandmother one day. She wanted to live.

After visiting with a surgeon and oncologist, she elected to do a lumpectomy, followed by chemotherapy and 36 sessions of radiation therapy. Throughout the array of treatments, she was extremely grateful for her coworkers, who showed continuous support by providing encouragement, meals, and prayers Nearly 20 years later, a mammogram revealed that Frederick-Ritz had some additional “abnormalities.” To see if these were cancerous, she had a biopsy done, which confirmed that the cancer was back. She also underwent genetic testing that showed she carries the mutation for “hereditary cancer.” The treatment options and decisions became more complex.

Looking ahead, she planned the following three steps: bilateral prophylactic salpingooophorectomy (removal of ovaries and Fallopian tubes) in December 2014, bilateral mastectomy in January 2015, and, lastly, reconstructive surgeries.

She had the first two steps done, but when it came time to discuss reconstruction, she ultimately decided against it.

“Due to previous radiation and surgeries, my reconstruction options were limited,” she says.

“Depending on the type of surgery chosen, there could be limitations on how much I can lift — and I’d like to be able to carry my grandkids if I want to.”

During her journey, she wrote a personal blog and was able to comfort herself and others who were going through similar situations. She shared with her readers a few tips on getting through the struggles, including the use of humor and laughter whenever possible.

“Laugher is the best medicine and a great stress reliever,” she says. “When you’re recovering at home, watch funny movies or old reruns of classics. Yes, laughing can sometimes be uncomfortable while recovering from surgery, but it is worth it to boost your mood — and your outcome!”

PINK ZONE GIVES SUPPORT TO KAY YOW FUND The Kay Yow Cancer Fund was officially founded on December 3, 2007, from the vision of the organization’s namesake, Kay Yow, former North Carolina State University women’s basketball head coach. The Kay Yow Cancer Fund is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to being a part of finding an answer in the fight against women’s cancers. The fund raises money for scientific research and research for the development of life-enhancing drugs and clinical studies. It assists the underserved and unifies people for a common cause.

Coach Yow’s battle against breast cancer was fought in the public arena with the hope of inspiring others to make a difference in a fight that impacts each and every one of us. Even in her death, she was helping others through the creation of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

Since the fund’s inception, $5.18 million has been granted for scientific research and related programs focused on women’s cancers. This has been made possible only through the generosity and continued support of donors and partners such as the Pennsylvania Pink Zone. Your support is greatly appreciated!

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SURVIVOR Darren Andrew Weimert

BY SARAH HARTEIS

It was the beginning of 2013 when Tori Wilt of State College first noticed a lump in her right breast. She didn’t panic or jump to conclusions.

It didn’t even really cross her mind that there might actually be a cause for concern.

“I just thought to myself, ‘hmmm,’ and did nothing about it,” she admits.

Not having told anyone of this self-discovery, she was surprised to receive an e-mail from her dad, informing her that breast cancer is on the rise for younger women; Wilt was only 34 years old. It was that day, March 5, 2013, that she decided to call her doctor.

“Just six days later, on March 11, it was confirmed that I did in fact have breast cancer,” she says. “I was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma, and my feelings were all over the place. I think I felt every emotion you could think of.”

Wilt was a single mom to her son, who was 5 at the time.

34 - Pink Zone 2016

Tori Wilt “Every time I looked at his sweet face, I knew I had to fight. Dying was not an option,” she says.

She endured a whirlwind of doctor’s appointments in the following weeks. A CT scan soon revealed a blood clot that had passed through her heart into her lung. She immediately began treatment for the clot.

“The treatment that I went through was specific for my cancer type,” she explains. “I decided to go through hardcore chemotherapy for six months, then 11 maintenance treatments after that. After chemotherapy, I had a double mastectomy. I did not carry the BRCA gene, but opted to have the mastectomy anyways, as I wanted to reduce my chances of recurrence.”

Looking back, she has no idea how she would have gotten through all of this without the love and encouragement from those who surrounded her.

“The amount of support I had from my family and those around me was incredible,” she says. “My dad drove me to all of my treatments in Pittsburgh. This was comforting to me, as he had recently become a prostate-cancer survivor himself.”

On August 27, 2015, Wilt, who lives in Alexandria, Pennsylvania, celebrated two years of remission. She was informed by her oncologist that when she reaches her threeyear anniversary, it is likely the cancer will not come back.

During her journey, she experienced many unexpected blessings. When she was struggling and had very little hair, she met her husband. They married just seven months after meeting and have a little girl.

As a wife and mother of two, Wilt feels she is able to now put things into perspective and appreciate her time in a different kind of way.

“I view life as much more fragile than previously, knowing that any day or any moment, it can change,” she says. “I wouldn’t say the cancer was a gift at all, but my experiences because of it were amazing. I now feel very thankful and blessed every day that I get to be here.”

A COALITION FOR THE FIGHT PBCC helps the cause with research and legislative action

BY PENNSYLVANIA BREAST CANCER COALITION

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• • •

Every year, PBCC encourages Pennsylvanians to help on its mission to end breast cancer. Finding a cure will be the greatest victory we can achieve, but until that day comes, we have many other major victories to celebrate.

In October 2015, PBCC declared a victory for all Pennsylvania women. Thanks to the commitment of Governor Tom Wolf and First Lady Frances Wolf, Pennsylvania became the first state in the nation to consider 3D mammograms exactly what they are: mammograms.

On October 5, during the PBCC conference in Harrisburg, Frances Wolf announced that, effective immediately, insurers must cover 3D mammograms at no cost to women over the age of 40. The move clarifies an existing law that the PBCC worked to pass in the 1990s.

Before this breakthrough ruling, we heard from women who had to pay anywhere from $60 Contributed photos (3)

“I just wouldn’t be alive today if it wasn’t for the research, and, without the PBCC’s funding, we can’t have the research,” says Carmen Haug, who participated in a clinical trial funded by the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition (PBCC).

She is one of many Pennsylvania women impacted by the PBCC’s research grants program. PBCC research grants support outstanding scientists in Pennsylvania working to find the cause of and cure for breast cancer.

Pennsylvania taxpayers have the opportunity to donate directly to the research grants fund each year on their state income tax forms.

Every penny goes directly to supporting groundbreaking research going on right here in our state.

Because of that research, Haug saw positive results in her treatment. She was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer, a very aggressive, fast-spreading disease. Her course of treatment included a drug researched by a PBCC grant recipient, Dr. Sandra Fernandez, at Jefferson University Hospital. Fernandez studied the effects of a drug using isolated cells from inflammatory breast-cancer patients. When administered, the drug kills tumor cells without harm to the healthy cells. Now, her research is producing significant results for many inflammatory breast-cancer patients such as Haug.

“People need this research. I need it — and thank God I have it because I’m here,” Haug says.

The PBCC is proud to award a 2016 research grant to Penn State’s Dr. Andrea Mastro, professor of microbiology and cell biology, and metastatic breast-cancer expert.

The mission of the PBCC is to find a cure for breast cancer now … so our daughters won’t

have to. To date, the PBCC’s research grants program has awarded more than $3 million in grants to promising and brilliant investigators with the same mission in mind.

“The PBCC research grants program provides funding for exceptional researchers who need to get their ideas off the ground. It provides hope for our future,” says PBCC president and founder Pat Halpin-Murphy. “Pennsylvania taxpayers who choose to donate on their state income tax forms have a profound impact on our fight to end this disease.”

Dr. Craig Meyers accepts a $50,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition.

to $600 to receive 3D mammograms, which are more effective in detecting breast cancer and produce fewer false positives. They also are one of the best screenings for women with dense breasts; dense breast tissue can hide tumors on a regular mammogram. Without additional tests, some women may have cancer that goes undetected until stage 3 or 4, when the disease is far less treatable.

The PA Department of Human Services has now taken the historic ruling one step further.

As of December 1, 2015, 3D mammograms also are covered for women insured by Pennsylvania Medicaid, another victory for women in our state.

Senate Bill 842 Following the passage of the Breast Density Notification Act in 2013, Pennsylvania mammography centers are now required to notify women of their breast density level. The PBCC, along with state senator Bob Mensch, is taking the next step on Senate Bill 842, which requires coverage for those additional screenings such as ultrasounds and MRIs.

Members of Dr. Yanming Wang’s research team work in the lab at Penn State.

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At the PBCC conference in October, Pennsylvania First Lady Frances Wolf announces that insurers must cover 3D mammograms at no cost to women over the age of 40.

The PBCC heard from women all across the state affected by this issue, including Mary Beth Day of Port Matilda. Day has excellent insurance coverage, but after she found out she had dense breasts and needed supplemental screenings, she was told her MRI would cost $500 out of pocket. Even with her insurance covering 90 percent of the charges, the MRI was too costly.

Senate Bill 842 would change that.

Day reached out to the PBCC and recently

spoke in support of Senate Bill 842 at a hearing before the PA Senate Banking and Insurance Committee. This legislation is critical for early detection of breast cancer in women who are at an increased risk of getting the disease, particularly in women with dense breast tissue. These tests show a clearer, more accurate image for women with dense breasts.

It can be a matter of life or death.

What can you do? Contact your Pennsylvania state senator today. Don’t wait. Share your story.

Tell them why this bill is so important.

When it comes to breast cancer, early detection is key, but for women with dense breasts, early detection may not even be possible without extra tests. How many women are living with breast cancer that cannot be detected because they can’t afford the screenings they need?

Let’s take action together. The women of Pennsylvania deserve it.

For more information on the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition, visit pabreastcancer.org.

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LUNCH WITH MIMI

Darren Andrew Weimert

Longtime breast-cancer survivor continues to enjoy life in her 90s.

Town&Gown founder Mimi Barash Coppersmith (left) talks with Irma Zipser, a resident at Juniper Village at Brookline in State College.

Ninety-five-old Irma Schlow Zipser is not only one of the oldest residents in Centre County, she also is a 56-year breast-cancer survivor. She happily resides at Juniper Village at Brookline in State College. The daughter of Charles and Bella Schlow, she is a 1938 State High graduate and graduated with a degree in speech from the University of Michigan in 1943.

Her family came to Bellefonte in 1919 and over the years owned two stores in State College — Schlow Quality Shop, a woman’s clothing store, and Schlow’s Furniture. Zipser worked most of her life at the clothing store.

Her father, Charles Schlow, is the founder of the library that now bears his name — Schlow Centre Region Library. The library was born at a time of loss for Schlow, with the passing of his wife, Bella, who died in 1957, two years after having a mastectomy because of her having breast cancer. Schlow offered two rent-free rooms in a house on West College Avenue to start the library. The library grew and moved into a converted post office in the 1960s. It underwent expansions in the 1970s and 1980s. In 2005, it found its new home in a new facility on South Allen Street.

40 - Pink Zone 2016

Zipser was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1959 and had her first mastectomy at the same hospital with the same doctor who treated her mother. Ten years later, she had her second mastectomy. Her husband, Harold, was a podiatrist who practiced until 1945 when he went into business with the Schlow family clothing store. He also managed a few apartment buildings in State College. He passed away in 2001.

Zipser has two daughters, Ruth Zipser and Judy Lang. Lang had uterine cancer in 1989, and each daughter gets a yearly checkup for cancer.

Town&Gown founder Mimi Barash Coppersmith sat down with Zipser at Juniper Village at Brookline to discuss her family, breast cancer, and what keeps her going at her age.

Mimi: Well Irma, you’re a very important person in my life. I’ve known you since I was a freshman at Penn State. We met 65 years ago. I came here as a 17 year old on August 28, 1950, and I never found my way out of town. I’m real happy here, and I bet you’re real happy that you never found your way out of town, too.

Irma: Definitely.

Mimi: Where were you born?

Irma: On Howard Street in Bellefonte.

Mimi: At home?

Irma: Yeah, at home! I always felt it was a place they’d make a big to-do about, that this is where I was born and all, but it’s a funeral parlor now.

Mimi: Breast cancer is something you and I have in common. Your mother had a mastectomy in 1955 — it must’ve been really scary then. Do you remember anything about it?

Irma: It was scary.

Mimi: Was the cancer the cause of her death?

Irma: Yes, but by that time it had spread through her body, and they didn’t know as much then.

Mimi: Four years after her breast cancer, you had breast cancer.

Irma: Yes. I’ll never forget. I had one breast removed, and, about two years later,

I went in every six months to my surgeon for a checkup, and he was examining me, and I had X-rays earlier in the day, and the people said, “Everything’s fine.” The surgeon was examining my breast and he turned to Harold and said, “Didn’t you ever feel that lump?”

Mimi: That was 10 years after your first mastectomy? You have survived the first mastectomy for 56 years! … The remarkable part of this is you have survived this amount of time in a wonderful life. What do you think is your secret to that happening?

Irma: Well, number one, we had the business, so as soon as I could go back to work, I did.

Mimi: And it kept you busy. I frequently say, “My work was my therapy in my toughest hours.”

Irma: I really think it was, yeah.

Mimi: You inspire the rest of us. I guess what inspires me about you is you have a good sense of humor like your father did, and you just keep moving on.

Irma: What else is there to do? You might as well move on.

Mimi: By the time people are reading this, you will be 95 years old. What does that feel like?

Irma: I don’t even feel like an old lady. I’m also counting — in four or five years I’ll have a big party.

Mimi: You’re gonna live to be 100?

Irma: I’m going to live to be 100!

Mimi: You better invite me, or I’m going to be upset!

Irma: You’re invited. You’re invited right now!

Mimi: How does it feel to have lost so many of your good friends?

Irma: It’s difficult because I had a couple girls, and we used to talk every day on the phone, and I miss that. But hey, life goes on and you have to exist.

Mimi: You’re in an assisted-living place, and you’re comfortable.

Irma: Very comfortable. It’s a very good place. The girls that work there come in two, three times a day to say, “Do you need anything? Do you want anything? Can we get you this? Can we get you that?”

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Mimi: So in fact you’re in an environment where you have a larger family than you started with.

Irma: Very much so, yes, but I get up in the morning, I get dressed, I go get coffee, I look at the paper.

Mimi: Tell me a little bit about your relationship with your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren.

Irma: Well my grandchildren, I don’t see very often, and the little ones, the greatgrandchildren, are too young to know one word or the other.

Mimi: I was here when you were all here one day, and it was fun to observe you as a family, really.

Irma: Yes, but the kids, they’re good little ones.

Mimi: In my day, the Schlow family was a very prominent family in Happy Valley, and Harold Zipser was a remarkable leader in the community. When you were first married, he practiced podiatry.

Irma: He was in the service for a while — Mother and Dad convinced him that he should go into the business rather than go back into his practice. That way he would have an income for the future, and if he wanted to take a vacation, he didn’t have to worry — the business would still go on. So that’s the main reason that he went into the business.

Mimi: Did your parents build the building where the store was?

Irma: Yes, they built that. Dad built that building, and he also then built a couple apartment houses in town.

Mimi: He had the vision early on as to where the money was: student housing.

Irma: Yes, he was a smart guy.

Mimi: He majored in business at Wharton.

There were three stores at one point: Bellefonte, State College, and then Lewisburg.

Irma: Bucknell University in Lewisburg.

Mimi: And the State College store, which is now just called Irving’s, opened in 1927,

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42 - Pink Zone 2016

and it continues to be a lovely retail store in the main part of town, and it has apartments above it. … They’ll always be rented because students want to be downtown. But it’s a pretty decent business, and it started with a father and grandfather who had the vision to do that in an era when no one would have predicted what would happen here. It was still a pretty young place when your mother got the idea to buy a clothing store.

Irma: Oh yes, absolutely. When Harold and I were first married in 1943, we lived in one of the apartments on College Avenue.

I can remember that Dad charged us rent the whole time that we lived there. When we decided that we wanted to move to a house, Harold was telling Dad he was going to go to the bank to see about taking out some money. You know, taking out a loan and paying it back. Dad said, “Don’t worry about it.” He said, “The whole time that I’ve been charging you rent, I have put it in a savings account for you for this occasion.” He had

been saving all the money that we had been paying for when we wanted to buy a house.

Mimi: And you lived in a house on Prospect Avenue. How many years did you live in that house?

Irma: I moved out of there in 1991, and I must have moved there in about the 1950s.

Mimi: What is your greatest wish for the rest of your life?

Irma: You know what, Mimi, I don’t have a greater wish. If I could live like I’m living right now, I don’t want any more.

Mimi: Well, I’m going to interview you again on your 100th birthday, so you can mark it down!

Irma: No, you mark it down! We’re going to have a party. Will you come?

Mimi: I’ll come.

Irma: Well, you’re on the top of the list because we haven’t made a list yet.

Mimi: Well, God bless you with good health for the rest of the journey, and thank you for taking the time to share.

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KNOWLEDGE IS POWER Breast-cancer patients should feel in control about the choices they make

Contributed photo

BY DAVID ARBUTINA, MD, FACS, BREAST CANCER & WOMEN’S HEALTH INSTITUTE OF CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA

David Arbutina, MD, FACS

In 1984, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to study surgery in Japan.

I learned patients always addressed physicians as “sensei,” and I was told this meant “teacher.”

I took this title to heart, and for the next 31 years of my surgical career, I have made teaching a primary goal in all interactions with my patients. I truly believe that when a patient has a better understanding of their disease, their available treatment options, and the prognostic implications, they have better outcomes. With knowledge, patients have a sense of control, which has been shown to directly benefit the immune system. In my breast-cancer practice, this sense of control means longer survival.

All too often, patients come to my office frightened and in the dark about their newly diagnosed breast cancer. Most, 44 - Pink Zone 2016

thankfully, have little to fear because they have an early disease that may require limited treatment. These patients’ fears are easily overcome. Next, there are the patients who may have significant benefit if they choose chemotherapy, which is no walk in the park, but most of these patients also have very good survival outlooks.

Finally, there are the patients with wicked, aggressive cancers. Even in these cases, presenting all the facts in a way that they can comprehend and grasp gives these patients that important sense of control.

It helps take away the hopeless, helpless feeling cancer patients often develop.

Knowledge gives my breast-cancer patients the drive to fight on.

The key is once the diagnosis is made, to get all the staging information back to the patient as soon as possible. It is the unknown that causes the most fear.

My goal is to see all new cancer patients within one week. In most cases, we set a surgery date within a few days to remove the tumor by lumpectomy and check the sentinel lymph nodes. This is an outpatient procedure, and the patient is back to normal activities the next day.

In most cases, this is the only surgery that a patient will require. With this staging information, I teach patients about what will affect their prognosis and about available therapies. Some patients may benefit from mastectomy or radiation to treat the remainder of the breast. Some may benefit from hormone therapy or chemotherapy to treat possible metastatic disease in other organs. With this knowledge, they can make educated choices about how they wish to proceed.

In my practice, I give patients a choice about where they wish to go for oncology or radiation referrals. I try to suggest the consultants who would be the best fit for their particular case. They know if they don’t like what they hear, a second opinion is always a good idea.

These are the most important decisions of a lifetime, and patients should feel confident they have made the right choices.

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