By Tamra Kilcollins
Cary Community Relations
The “Pink Aroostook” project began in 2011 funded through a one-year grant awarded to Cary Medical Center from the Susan G. Komen Foundation. According to Project Coordinator Bethany Zell, program goals have focused on promoting breast health education and connecting women to local and national resources that may be able to assist with transportation, financial and emotional support as they undergo breast cancer treatment.
Another primary goal of the “Pink Aroostook” project has been to establish a local breast cancer support group in Aroostook County.
The “Pink Aroostook” support group meets the first and third Thursday of every month from 5 – 7 p.m., in the Cary Medical Center Chan Center. There are currently nine active support group members who have become as passionate as Zell about connecting women to resources, so much so, that six members were able to attend the American Cancer Society’s “Reach to Recovery” volunteer training in Bar Harbor in September. “Reach to Recovery” volunteers are breast cancer survivors who are available 24/7 to connect with newly diagnosed patients who need to talk about their fears and ask questions of someone who has survived breast cancer.
“Networking and sharing information and experiences with fellow cancer survivors and women undergoing treatment is so helpful and important,” Zell explained. “We want women in Aroostook County to know that we are here and available if they need us. The ladies in my support group are incredible women, and we’re so excited about being able to provide ‘Reach to Recovery’ support right here at home. The American Cancer Society tries to match survivors by age, location, type of breast cancer and treatments they have undergone, so this will now provide more local resources for the women who call in to the American Cancer Society’s hotline,” she explained.
In addition to the support group and Reach to Recovery training, Zell explained that she will also be partnering very closely with Kim Wilcox, the Breast Health Navigator at the new Women’s Imaging Center at Cary, “so that we can be there as a resource for women right from the time of their diagnosis if they choose.”
Zell explained that although the Komen grant funding has essentially run out for this year, “we are committed to Pink Aroostook and determined to keep our project going,” she said. “We’ve partnered with Cary Medical Center and other local groups that have been so supportive and held several fundraiser events, and we’ll be re-applying to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for funding in 2013.”
For more information about Pink Aroostook and the Breast Cancer Support Group, please call Pink Aroostook Coordinator, Bethany Zell at 551-4284, e-mail: bzell@carymed.org; visit their webpage at www.pinkaroostook.org, or find Pink Aroostook on Facebook.
