HERS Breast Cancer Foundation :: Bras for Body & Soul

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The HERS Breast Cancer Foundation, a 501(c)(3) a non-profit organization, provides programs and services supporting the needs of women and families affected by breast cancer in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Bras for Body & Soul is a specialty bra shop and extended services for all women, including women who have had breast surgery, in order to make a positive difference in women's lives.

News >> When a Door Closes, Another Must Open: Fremont's HERS Foundation Opens Doors to Breast Cancer Support in Fremont

by Letha Saldanha
India Post, Fremont, California
This story first appeared in the India Post on September 21, 2001.

When Breast Cancer strikes close to home, it is merciless and indiscriminate. Three years ago, almost to date, my best friend and soul mate of 32 years, Jyoti Naidu Mathew underwent a rushed mastectomy in Bangalore and plunged head on into what turned out to be an uphill battle against the spread of the cancer. Four months ago, on Memorial Day, she passed away. For over two years, those of us who hold her dear to us watched helplessly, feeling inadequate and humbled as she faced battle after battle, going through grueling chemotherapy and radiation with dignity, strength and fortitude. Between battles, she did her best to give all of us a semblance of normalcy.

In the days following her mastectomy, after the tears had dried up and I had planted an eternal bed of daffodils, I was looking into resources for life after mastectomy and living with breast cancer, both as a survivor and as a family member-yes, her family had 'adopted' me a long time ago when I was a lonely and homesick 'foreign' student at college in Bangalore. As she ploughed through her first course of intensive chemotherapy, positive thoughts turned to the physical aspects of post mastectomy life, including reconstructive surgery and post mastectomy wear. Through links at the American Cancer Association, web surfing finally brought me to a cancer resource center at Berkeley. On contacting them, they opened a door for me to Fremont's own HERS Foundation and Bras for Body & Soul--two resources that have been a tremendous source of physical and emotional support for me and for Jyoti through her fight with breast cancer. It has also opened a door to new friendships and ventures that may otherwise have never come my way.

The HERS Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization established in 1998 by Dr. Tricia McMahon, Dr. Cheryl Maloney and Nancy Vital, EA--a tax consultant who is also a breast cancer survivor. The foundation fosters Hope, Empowerment, Renewal and Support through various programs and services for women and their loved ones facing breast cancer. Bras for Body & Soul is a specialty bra shop and extended services for all women, including women who have had breast surgery. When I first visited Bras for Body & Soul, and met Tricia, I was an emotional wreck. Her compassion, warmth and affection and yet practical, down to earth way of dealing with the physical post mastectomy issues, put me at ease. She shared with me various physical and emotional in sights that came with her blend of studies in spirituality, and health sciences-insights like the importance of wearing a prosthesis for post mastectomy balance and posture. When I saw Jyoti's shoulders droop when she was tired, I remembered this and why. Having comfortable post mastectomy wear is one small comfort in a difficult time when one is dealing with many new physical and emotional issues. Not extensively available in India, and expensive when available, post mastectomy wear is a practical, yet poignant gift that family members here can send to our loved ones back in India. It means a lot, especially if they have not had reconstructive surgery and still want to wear a choli. On March 12th when Jo's cancer was detected in her liver, I visited Tricia and we lit an incense stick that Jo had sent for Tricia last summer. At that point, Tricia was invaluable in helping me emotionally, to put things in perspective and come to terms with the inevitable that was looming ahead. On May 28th, when I told Tricia and Cheryl that Jyoti had passed away, they lit another incense-small gestures that bridge emotional gaps and bring tremendous solace in a time of grief.

On October 7th, 2000 the HERS Foundation had its first annual walk, here at Coyote Hills in Fremont: KEEP ABREAST--Walking Together for HER, in order to create awareness of and raise funds for breast cancer support, honor survivors, and remember those who have gone. We all shared in a moving Opening Ceremony before the 5k (3 mile) easy walk. This year the 2nd annual KEEP ABREAST event is scheduled for September 29th. Last year, I walked in Jyoti's honor. This year I will walk in Jyoti's memory, and she will be there in spirit beside me, just like all those long walks we took in Bangalore, for years through our college days, exchanging warm thoughts and passionate ideologies of youth. Of recent, we took walks whenever I went back to India to visit, culminating in a last walk I took with her in Bangalore on India's Independence Day, August 15th 1999. By this time cancer had already taken a physical and emotional toll on her and we shared mellow and reflective thoughts. When I visited her in the summer of 2000, we did not take our traditional walk but we still shared thoughts.

Jyoti, and many like her, should not have fought and survived or fought and lost in vain. With the latest advances in bioengineering and genetics it is just a matter of time before we either find a cure for breast cancer or it becomes a manageable ailment like diabetes and blood pressure. Until that happens, we need to create awareness of and provide support, both physical and emotional, to those who live with breast cancer and those who live with the fear of breast cancer. Here in Fremont, Bras for Body & Soul, along with the HERS Foundation, provides an invaluable service that stretches across oceans and continents.

As for me, as a door closed on a dear friend's mortal existence back in India, new doors of friendship opened here.

For more information on the HERS Foundation and their upcoming Walk on Saturday September 29th at Coyote Hills in Fremont, visit the HERS Foundation website or call (510) 505-9255.