Calendars for a Cause

Added: Thu Jan 24th 3:10pm
Posted in: Cancer

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One word seems to unify us all in dread: cancer.  The disease doesn't discriminate based on race, gender, age, income, attitude or resume.  It can strike at any time, and most often leaves the patient with physical, emotional and financial challenges.


According to the Centers for Disease Control, breast cancer is the second-most common form of cancer in women.  It's the number one cause of cancer death for Hispanic women, and the second-most common cause of cancer death in white, black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native women.

In 2004, the most recent year that numbers are available, 186,772 women and 1,815 men were diagnosed with breast cancer.  40,954 women and 362 men died from breast cancer.

Most of us know someone that has gotten the devastating diagnosis.  When you get the word that a loved one is starting treatment, you hope … you pray … and you wait.

Recently, I had the privilege of meeting a group of women in Central Florida who are united in their breast cancer battle, although their individual experiences were very different.  

Shari Bartz Sawyers is 2 years out from her diagnosis.  She weighed all her options with her doctors, and when confronted with the choice of invasive surgery or crippling chemotherapy, she chose the surgery.

Karen McLeod is more than 6 years past her cancer battle, and she went through nearly a year of treatments.  She had chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery … and now lobbies for a more streamlined approach to helping a patient from diagnosis to recovery.

Peggy Smith has devoted her life to helping others.  At the age of 55, she was rocked by the news that she had breast cancer.  She told me that when it got really bad, she would get in her car and scream – so that no one would hear it.  Then she'd come home and go back to helping others.

(Interesting side note – Peggy lost her hair due to chemotherapy and when it grew back, it was gray.  Someone spotted her in her doctor's office and asked her to start modeling.  It seems that person was a talent scout who needed someone to show off luxurious, beautiful gray hair!)

Cancer is the common denominator for these women, and despite the challenges they faced and continue to face, they all agree that the most important thing is the work toward finding a cure.


And that brings me to the story that we did on these women, here on growingbolder.com.  They, along with other local cancer survivors, posed for a special 15-month calendar.  Sales from the product go toward "Women Playing for T.I.M.E."  In the calendar, the women posed as vintage Hollywood movie starlets.  It's a throwback to the 1950s, made modern in an Orlando photographer's studio.  The photographer who worked with the women had a very personal reason for being a part of the project – her mother and mother-in-law battled cancer.  Iman Woods (http://www.imanwoods.com) approached Women Playing for T.I.M.E. about creating the calendar, saying she wanted to showcase the beauty of cancer patients.

All of the models got professional hair and makeup for the photo shoot, and local stores provided the clothes and furniture.  The women told me that they felt gorgeous and pampered, in a way that they rarely feel and certainly didn't feel during their treatments.  

The calendars are on sale at www.womenplayingfortime.org, for $20 plus shipping and handling.  All of the proceeds from the sales will benefit M.D. Anderson—Orlando.

To watch the story we did on the Calendar Girls, click here.