Breast Cancer Survivors Offer Warm Message

The events hit Marjorie Cole in rapid succession: the death of her son and a divorce. It seemed that her life had reached rock bottom.

That was until she was diagnosed with cancer in her left breast.

“I thought I was going to die,” said Cole, a soft-spoken and petite woman. “I was sure I was. . . . I was very frightened.”

The only other person she knew with breast cancer was her uncle’s wife, who died of the disease years before. Despite her fears, Cole underwent a mastectomy days after a family Easter dinner in 1984.

Cole, now 63, lives to tell the tale. And so do 60 other women in Ventura County, all breast cancer survivors. Along with friends and relatives, the women have patched together a small quilt in cotton candy pinks and muted whites that resembles a baby blanket.

Unlike the massive AIDS quilt, the “Quilt of Hope” is not a tribute to the dead, but a celebration of those who are still alive after battling breast cancer.

The quilt, which is on tour throughout the county this month as part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, is the first project of its kind in the county and was started by the Ventura County Breast Cancer Early Detection Partnership, which is run by volunteers and a number of county health organizations.

“We want to show that we are survivors,” Cole said. “In fact, a lot of us have come to realize it makes you appreciate your life more, take better care of yourself and take time to smell the roses and tell the people around them that we love them.”

But getting to this point hasn’t been easy for Cole. Like many other breast cancer survivors, she has had to deal with numerous emotional and physical problems: medical treatment, strained relations with friends and relatives, feelings of isolation, loneliness, a loss of womanhood.

She healed slowly, attending support groups where other women with breast cancer could empathize and discuss the matter without embarrassment. In 1990, she underwent breast reconstruction.

Cole is an organizer of the Breast Cancer Support Group, which meets once a month from 7 to 9 p.m. every second Tuesday at Ventura’s Episcopal Church, 3290 Loma Vista Road.

On Cole’s section of the quilt, she has etched symbols of her new life in ink and glitter: her new house in Port Hueneme, a cake and ring to represent marriage to her second husband, shoes that represent the swing, ballroom and western dancing she now enjoys.

Cole, who has retired as a sales representative for a book publisher, now wants to inform other women that there is a way to detect the disease early, such as self-examinations and mammograms.

The local breast cancer early detection program, funded through a statewide tobacco tax, provides free breast cancer screening to women 40 or older who are either low income or uninsured. For information, call at (800) 511-2300.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

‘Quilt of Hope’ Schedule

The “Quilt of Hope” honors women who have conquered breast cancer and it is made up of 60 squares created by the survivors or their friends and relatives. Anyone wishing to add to the quilt can contact the nearest Ventura County American Cancer Society office. The quilt will be on display at the following locations:

* Today: Nancy Reagan Breast Center, 2750 Sycamore Drive, Simi Valley, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

* Saturday: Gay and Lesbian Community Center, 1995 E. Main St., Ventura, noon to 4 p.m.

* Sunday: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Parish Hall, 3290 Loma Vista Road, Ventura, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

* Tuesday: The Wellness Community, 530 Hampshire Road, Thousand Oaks, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Also 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 16.

* Oct. 15: St. Francis of Assisi Church, 1058 Ventura St., Fillmore, 10 a.m. to noon.

* Oct. 18: “Break the Silence,” a breast health walk and rally, Camarillo Premium Outlets, noon to 3 p.m.

* Oct. 21-23: Cancer Center of Ventura County, St. John’s Regional Medical Center, 1600 N. Rose Ave., Oxnard, 3 to 5 p.m. Also 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 22 and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 23.

* Oct. 26: St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 409 Topa Topa Drive, Ojai, 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

* Oct. 27-Nov. 1: Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, 2310 E. Ponderosa Drive, Camarillo. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 27 to 30, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 31 and 9 a.m to 1 p.m. Nov. 1.