BREAST cancer support group, Breast Cancer Buddies, founded in Coffs Harbour in 1996, turns 30 this year.
The milestone will be celebrated with the group’s members inviting all women in the community to enjoy an afternoon tea and fashion parade next month.
“Our Bloom Again afternoon will include fabulous fashions on the field with Lisa Riddel, Her Closet, and an amazing array of headwear from Wig Wise by Michelle Wilson, modelled by some incredibly talented women,” BCB member Lee Millard-Newton told News Of The Area.
The event is a fundraiser for CanDo breast cancer charity and takes place on 22 October at Coffs Racing Club.
Breast Cancer Buddies (BCB) was founded by Ruth Cooper, the wife of a retired Anglican minister.
The members met monthly in her lounge room to chat and hear from a guest speaker.
The founding principle, which remains today, was ensuring women would never be alone. The group offered connection to others, providing a welcoming and non-judgemental environment.
Today the group meets monthly, guest speakers are invited, and the calendar continues to be published and circulated in various locations for women to learn of the support available to them.
Ms Millard-Newton found herself in Ruth’s loungeroom in 1997 looking to connect with others who had been diagnosed with breast cancer, so she could find ‘sameness’, she said.
“Support groups benefit communities for sure, offering members the opportunity to be with people travelling a similar journey, to learn new information, find friendship and warmth in a safe space,” she said.
They play a vital role, Ms Millard-Newton believes, as despite so many options available today for learning and connection, it is sitting with peers, feeling welcomed and accepted within a support group setting, that is so beneficial.
As the BCB group outgrew Ruth’s loungeroom, it moved to St John’s church hall, and the church provided support by covering the cost of printing flyers and promotional materials.
“In the early days, before social media and patients staying in hospital longer, breast cancer was not out there in the news as it is today – the group is how women connected,” Ms Millard-Newton said.
“All support groups in those days were supported by Cancer Council NSW with facilitators undertaking an educational program, leaving armed with a how-to folder.”
The group members found great benefit in the style of BCB and while new members joined and others left, there remained a cohort of women who continued to attend the group long after their treatment was completed.
Men diagnosed with breast cancer have also attended the group.
When Ruth retired from leadership, the group evolved to have two facilitators.
The support group relocated to its current meeting room at Shearwater Lodge.
Breast Care Nurse Jane Kelly, along with Di Holt, facilitate the current BCB group, which is now connected with Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) – an organisation of consumers across Australia and New Zealand.
The group also supports Cancer Council’s Biggest Morning Tea by hosting an event in the Botanic Gardens each year – a great opportunity to connect with survivors.
The members of the BCB plan to erect a mini Field of Women on the lawn in front of Coffs Racing Club.
A field of women is significant to breast cancer survivors as a way of honouring those affected by breast cancer.
“I was privileged to participate in the first field of women in 1998,” Ms Millard-Newton said.
“The lawn in front of old Parliament House was filled with 12,500 silhouettes, visually demonstrating the sheer numbers of women, and men, diagnosed with breast cancer in Australia.”
Pink silhouettes represented women diagnosed, blue for men and white for those people who have lost their lives to breast cancer.
By Andrea FERRARI
You can help your local paper.
Make a small once-off, or (if you can) a regular donation.
We are an independent family owned business and our newspapers are free to collect and our news stories are free online.
Help support us into the future.
