I just never know what great news will await me when I crank on my computer each morning. In this case, two of my 2007 edition models reported their Breast of Canada experience to their local newspaper,
The Whig-Standard.Just in case the link stops working, I copied and pasted it here.
Inspiring the Breast of Canada
By Gloria Bacci
Local News - Saturday, September 02, 2006 @ 07:00Lisa Tugnette and her mother Myrka Duces hospital charts have elicited the same response from doctors, nurses and pathologists for the past three years disbelief.
In the summer of 2003, the mother and daughter were both diagnosed with breast cancer. It was Duces third diagnosis and Tugnettes first.
That August, they underwent surgery on the same day, were operated on by the same surgeon, and ended up in the same recovery room.
Even the location of the cancer was the same the right breast. Tugnette, now 39, required a mastectomy and lymph node dissection, while Duce, 65, required a lumpectomy and lymph node dissection.
A lymph node dissection is a surgery in which lymph nodes are removed and checked to see if they contain cancer.
We do everything together, including getting breast cancer, Tugnette said.
Recently, the two Kingston residents have added one more item to their list of shared experiences modelling.
Tugnette and Duce posed together for the 2007 Breast of Canada Calendar.
Breast of Canada is an independent, grassroots organization that helps promote womens health.
The calendar features women of all ages from across Canada who have chosen to tastefully bare their breasts to raise awareness for breast health.
The photograph of Tugnette and Duce depicts the pair standing hand in hand next to their reflections in a mirror. They are both wrapped in matching white sarongs.
Its a very tasteful calendar, its not something that sexualizes womens breasts.
Its about awareness, Tugnette said. Twenty years ago, nobody ever talked about cancer, especially breast cancer.
Not only was the subject taboo, but the procedures relating to breast cancer were also very different in the past, Tugnette said.
For example, mastectomies used to involve the removal of pectoral muscles, making the chest-area look much more hollow, she said.
Images of women who underwent such outdated procedures were featured in the cancer textbook Tugnette received from a nurse after her diagnosis.
The nurses urged Tugnette not to look at the images because they did not reflect the results of current procedures.
For many women, the first fear is what youre going to look like, Tugnette said. This opens up the issue of young women dealing with self-
image and their sexuality.
Im hoping that looking at this [calendar] will give women courage and strength to know that this isnt really that bad.
Tugnette went almost two and a half years before beginning the process of reconstructive surgery.
I didnt feel feminine, I felt half girl and half boy, she said. Everywhere I looked was womens cleavage on TV, in movies.
She credits her husband, Tim, as a major source of support during that difficult time.
He never looked at me any differently, she said. I was feeling like damaged goods at first, but luckily my husband immediately scolded me. He said, Dont talk like that, I love you with or without breasts.
Tugnette has met women who have never allowed their husbands to view their mastectomy scars, knowing theyd be unable to deal with them.
That infuriates me because it implies shame, said Tugnette. The woman who has lost her breast should not feel shame.
Duces former partner was an example of a man who could not deal the idea of a mastectomy.
He said, A woman is not a woman without a breast, said Tugnette.
Duce said her partners attitude was one of the reasons she refused a mastectomy when it was suggested to her.
I dont think he knows how much he hurt me, Duce said.
Duce has since moved on with her life. In fact, it was her idea to participate in the calendar.
In May 2005, Duce was at a breast cancer support group meeting and overheard a photographer, Suzy Lamont, asking a group member to participate. The group member declined, but Lamont had perked Duces interest.
I thought, hey, this is cool. This is different, she said.
Before approaching Lamont, Duce asked if her daughter was interested. The answer was yes.
Although the photo shoot was a new experience for the mother-daughter pair, they both said they felt at ease.
After all the mammograms and people poking needles, you loose the inhibitions, said Duce. You feel, what the hell, everyone else has seen me.
Not only was the calendar an opportunity for Tugnette to promote breast health, it also enabled her to share a lesson she learned through her experience with breast cancer.
It forces you to look on the inside for your beauty, she said. I learned we are so much more than whats on the outside. Everything on the outside is just a bonus.
Right now, both Tugnette and Duce are in remission. In October, Tugnette will head to Toronto for the final phase of her reconstructive surgery at Princess Margaret Hospital.
Both mother and daughter are looking forward to the year ahead.
Duce hopes for a speedy recovery from a bout of tendonitis so she can rejoin her Dragon Boat team, the Chest Mates, for a new training season in February 2007. The team is composed of breast cancer survivors.
In her spare time, Tugnette has had the opportunity to do some public speaking about her experiences. She is also in the process of writing a book that will document her story, and act as a educational resource for other women with breast cancer. Tugnettes goal is to have her manuscript complete by her fortieth birthday in April 2007.
Tugnette hopes her book will shed light on the effect breast cancer can have on a woman.
People dont understand how deeply it affects our psyches. Breasts are very much a part of out femininity, she said. When we share our stories, we have no idea the impact it may have on someone else."
-30-
Calendar Girl is thrilled.
Calendar Girl
Tags: Calendar Girl Blog, calendar girl blog, Breast of Canada Calendar, Sue Richards, middle of normal. Guelph, education. Pleeeeze order a Breast of Canada today. Then find out what’s going on in Guelph, the birthplace of Breast of Canada.
