Wellness coalition announces new community-based breast cancer support group
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A coalition of organizations with an interest in health and wellness today announced the formation of a new breast cancer support group during a news conference at the Doris Jones Family Resource Building.
Sponsored by Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, the Niagara Falls Housing Authority, For Our Daughters Inc. and the Buffalo Niagara Witness Project, the support group is called 2U ABC, which stands for “To You it’s all About Breast Cancer.”
The group is open to all women with a focus on African American women, who are statistically more likely than other women to die from breast cancer.
“The goal of this group is to not only support women with breast cancer and breast cancer survivors, but to educate women and men about preventive care and early detection tools,” said Charles Walker, Memorial’s director of community outreach.
The group’s first meeting will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, Nov. 26 at the Doris Jones Family Resource Building, 3001 Ninth St., Niagara Falls.
The leaders of 2U ABC are Mercedes Holloway and Tandra Parker. Holloway, who was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 28, will share her story of battling the disease as a young mother with two children.
That experience led to the formation of For Our Daughters, an organization that strives to enlighten and enrich women with knowledge to promote healthy living among our children.
“Women who are newly diagnosed with breast cancer find themselves asking such questions as: What do I do next? How do I tell my children? How am I going make it?” Holloway said. “Attending 2U ABC meetings and hearing the stories of those who have walked that path can help breast cancer patients cope with the treatments, the fear, even the complications. More importantly, it can give them hope.”
Parker is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer and shares survivorship with her sister Cheryl. Her motto: “Never give up.”
For more information about 2U ABC, call 957-TALK (957-8255).