Inspirational Woman

Nancy G. Brinker

I find Nancy G. Brinker to be a very inspirational woman because of everything she has done to help find a cure for breast cancer. She is truly keeping her promise to her sister Suzy by trying to find a cure.

I also chose to blog about Nancy G. Brinker and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure because it is a cause that is near and dear to my heart. I lost my mother to breast cancer nine years ago.

Nancy G. Brinker is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. It is a non-profit organization.

1982 logo

2012 logo

Nancy G. Brinker started the breast cancer movement in 1982 with “$200 and a shoebox full of names in my living room” (Susan G. Komen for the Cure). Today $685 million have been spent on research alone.

To date the Komen for the Cure has invested more than $1.9 billion to help fulfill the promise made to Susan G. Komen by her sister Nancy. There are 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in U.S. because of the research being done every day by Komen for the Cure.  But this is not the only place that Brinker is helping to fight breast cancer. There are more than 50 countries that have been helped by Komen for the Cure. Research is the key to finding the cure for any disease. Brinker and her organization helped breast cancer patients globally to survive (Susan G. Komen for the Cure).

Suzy and Nancy

Brinker created the organization as a wish to her dying sister to help find a cure for breast cancer forever everywhere. 

Nancy G. Brinker is an inspirational woman because she has brought breast cancer to the forefront of the world in order to help find a cure. Brinker is altering the perception of breast cancer with events such as Komen Race for the Cure. The dedication and love that Brinker has shown to this project has helped breast cancer patients become breast cancer survivors.

If you are interested to know how this all started click on the link and find out.

http://ww5.komen.org/AboutUs/SusanGKomensStory.html

I have this link on my favorites and click on it every day; it is a link to give a free mammogram.

http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=2





References

The Breast Cancer Site. (2012). Click to Give Free Mammograms.

           Retrieved from

           http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=2

Martina McBride. (2011, August 18). “I’m Gonna Love You Through It”-

            Martina McBride. Retrieved April 30, 2012, from 

             http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxIt70j_SPk&feature=related

Susan G. Komen for the Cure. (2012). Message from our Founder. Retrieved from

            http://ww5.komen.org/AboutUs/MessageFromOurFounder.html

Susan G. Komen for the Cure. (2012). Our Global Reach. Retrieved from

            http://ww5.komen.org/AboutUs/GlobalReach.html

Susan G. Komen for the Cure. (2012). Our People. Retrieved from

            http://ww5.komen.org/AboutUs/NancyBrinker.html

Susan G. Komen for the Cure. (2012). Our Work. Retrieved from

            http://ww5.komen.org/AboutUs/OurWork.html

Susan G. Komen for the Cure. (2012). Susan G. Komen’s Story. Retrieved from

            http://ww5.komen.org/AboutUs/SusanGKomensStory.html

Blog #4

Interview someone who is living with a chronic illness.
What are their living experiences? What are they doing to try to maintain their health despite the disease?

My interview was with a woman named Sally who has Fibromyalgia and Lupus. I asked Sally what it is like to live with a chronic illness. She stated that she lives with “chronic, moderate to severe pain most days and has good to limited physical ability.” She also told me that she requires aid with some physical “chores” such as house cleaning and requires help with some hygiene issues such as bathing. Though she feels she is able to take care of herself for the most part. Sally contented that living with a chronic illness is something that you learn to do in order to survive your life and maintain some sort of physical and mental stability. Sally works full-time and wants to go back to school but is hesitant to do so due to memory problems and “cloudy thinking” brought on by her illness and the side-effects of the vast amount of medications she has to take daily. I asked if it is expensive to live with a chronic illness. She told me that if she didn’t have good insurance she wouldn’t be able to afford the expensive medications that she has to take four times a day.

Sally told me that in order to live with a chronic illness you have to attempt to lead as normal a life as possible. She works at her job despite the physical and mental limitations that sometimes impede her ability to perform her duties adequately. Taking medications and eating as healthy a diet as possible helps her manage her illness. Sally confessed that she currently does not exercise even though she knows she should. But stated that it is just very painful to walk due to the fact that she has neuropathy in her feet and also cannot afford a gym membership. Sally made the comment that family and friends are important because they help you through the rough periods. My last question to Sally was what is the hardest thing to live with because of your chronic illness? Her answer was the pain because it is always there, medication manages it, but it never completely goes away.  She said sometimes it even hurts to get hugged.

Pain is something that nobody should have to ever live with but unfortunately with chronic illnesses pain is sometimes normal. This is especially true for anyone with Fibromyalgia and Lupus.