August Greetings from BB!
Dear Friends of BB!,
There is a new face at our office these days. We are beyond thrilled that a writer friend who covered our story for a local news organization in the very earliest days of Beyond Boobs! is now part of Team BB! I am pleased to introduce Desiree Parker, who is, among other things, our social media guru, newsletter-creator extraordinaire, and Pink-Link liaison. This month she is our guest author and shares her thoughts on stress with you - but not because we are causing her stress!  As a health organization, we are all about relieving stress - our own and others. May her words inspire you to dump stress, BB! style.
 
Happy summer hugs,
Mary Beth Gibson
 
Hello,
I'm Desiree, and this week had me thinking about stress in all its awful forms - stress at work and at home, stress from real things like pain and poor health and more internal stuff like plain old worry. We can all relate. Summer is a time when we're supposed to carve out a piece of stress-free time for ourselves (vacation! Have you taken one yet? I haven't) to decompress with family or friends, but how often do we really make that happen? Also, I know from my own experience that traveling brings its own type of stress (get to the airport in time! Where's the luggage? It costs how much? ARE WE THERE YET, MOM?) Then, when we finally get home we often think, "ahh, a vacation from the vacation!" Phew! Some of the things life throws at us are out of our control, but a big part of our daily stress comes from fear - we're afraid something will go wrong, or we're afraid someone won't be pleased, so the little alarm bells run on repeat in our minds until we're sure we're safe. 
 
Some of this we can't avoid, but in my life, I am working hard on putting the brakes on the endless loop of worry when I feel it rearing its ugly head. I try to take time to notice what simple, wonderful things are happening around me at that moment. I take a deep breath, and then I take another one. Right now, there's a finch on a tree branch right outside my window. My coffee cup is full of deliciousness. I see the book I'm going to read tonight sitting on the table, and I think to myself "Life is good." As summer starts to wind itself to a close, I wish you all peace and relaxation, and the lightest load of stress possible.

 
With friendship,
Desiree Parker
It takes a village to raise a non-profit, and we would be honored if you would become a member of our village! Beyond grateful doesn't begin to describe our appreciation for the individuals and businesses who entrust us with their donations.
August Calendar Model
of the Month
Janet
47, Diagnosed at 40
No Family History

UPS driver, outdoor enthusiast, and by nature a caregiver, Janet was shocked to learn that the lump she felt just a few months after a clear mammogram was stage 3 breast cancer.

Used to being the giver not the taker, Janet soon realized that she did need help, and to overcome the struggles and fear that accompanied her surgeries, double mastectomy, chemotherapy and inability to work, she would have to learn how to be on the receiving end of support. While recovering from treatment she also experienced the heart-breaking losses of her maternal grandmother and then her mother... read the rest of Janet's story here.

BB! News 

Thank You,

Times Two!

We are so grateful to have been one of the beneficiaries of the Williamsburg Craft Beer Festival that happened in April! The fun springtime event, sponsored by Rotary Club of Williamsburg and the Young Emerging Professionals of Williamsburg, supported several nonprofits in the area.  The $3,500 we received will be put to good use helping young breast cancer survivors and educating everyone about breast health!
Also, a  huge thank you to American Pride Automotive's State Inspections for our Community program, which raised $6,912 for Beyond Boobs! between April and June! American Pride donates a portion of money they receive for every state inspection to a local charity; you can read more about the program here The partnerships and connections we've made in the community mean so much to us. We feel the love!

BB! Blog
i n the weeks leading up to the Pink Carpet Gala (have we mentioned that we're a little bit EXCITED?!), we've been featuring sneak peaks of our 2016 calendar girls to get you ready for the big reveal! Below, we're sharing one story, but be sure to look at our blog page to read them all!

2016 Calendar Model Sneak Peek:
Mary Ashby

Mary Ashby didn't mess around when she felt a golf-ball-sized lump in her breast while performing a self-exam in the shower. Her mother was a breast cancer survivor and Mary took her higher risk for the disease seriously. She went straight to the ER to be checked out and to request a mammogram. Right after her 35th birthday, in late August 2013, she was diagnosed with Stage 3 invasive ductal carcinoma.

Mary is thrilled to be representing Beyond Boobs!, along with ten of her Boober! sisters, in A Calendar to Live By 2016. She resides in Williamsburg with her husband, Vernon, her seven-year-old daughter Mary, and her mom, also named Mary... read more of Mary Ashby's story
Healthy News
Sugar and Cancer: What's the link?

Concerned about sugar? You're not alone. Many popular diets target this simple carbohydrate as a dietary villain. The volume of information on sugar and health can be overwhelming spoons of sugar and sometimes misleading. "Carbohydrates, which break down into glucose, are the primary fuel source for your body. You require a normal level of glucose in your bloodstream to maintain body function," says Clare McKindley, clinical dietitian at MD Anderson's Cancer Prevention Center.

You get sugar naturally in foods like fruits, vegetables and dairy products, which are packed with nutrients like fiber, vitamins and minerals essential for a healthy diet. Added sugars are a different story. Sugars that are added to foods and beverages translate to extra calories. Those added calories can have an impact on your health. Read more...

Breast Cancer News

The Double Mastectomy Rebellion: Defying Doctors, More Women  With Breast Cancer Choose Double Mastectomies
via Wall Street Journal

 

"...Researchers have tracked sharp increases in double mastectomies, even among women at low risk for cancer to develop in the other breast and for whom the radical procedure offers no additional survival benefits. Doctors call it a profound shift in the prevailing medical culture and some have begun to question whether the field should reconsider performing what amounts to an amputation with little evidence to support its efficacy. "This is an epidemic," says Dr. Ann Partridge, an oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

 

An analysis of the National Cancer Data Base revealed that 12% of women who received surgery for Stages 0-to-3 breast cancer in 2012 underwent a double mastectomy, up from 2% in 1998. Nearly 30% of women under age 45 opted to have both breasts removed in the most recent year, according to the analysis by Dr. Katharine Yao, director of breast surgery at NorthShore University HealthSystem near Chicago." Read the full WSJ story here.

Healthy Recipe

Vegetable-Stuffed Portobellos

recipe from Taste of Home

 

Who says meat always has to be the star of the dinner plate? Try these protein-packed bites as your main course one day -- we bet you'll love it! Click the photo or click HERE for the recipe.



Are you an Amazon online shopper? 

If you use Amazon, shop using  www.smile.amazon.com and .5% of every purchase will be awarded to Beyond Boobs! at no extra cost to you.

Just click HERE and type in Beyond Boobs!
Happy Shopping!
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Calendar sponsor
of the month:

Peninsula Cancer Institute
Riverside Medical Group

Peninsula Cancer Institute is a comprehensive cancer treatment network with multiple locations in southeastern Virginia, Newport News, Williamsburg, and Gloucester. Visit them online HERE!
"Not Your Typical"
Support Systems

We want to help as many women as we can, which is why we're always expanding! Beyond Boobs! now has 15 "Not Your Typical" Support Systems in four states -- with more to come!

To find one near you, click HERE!

SAVE THE DATE !

gala
to premiere A Calendar to Live By 2016

S eptember 19, 2015
at
DoubleTree by Hilton
Williamsburg

Get your tickets HERE!

The night's festivities include dinner, drinks, dancing, live auction, prize drawing, and an inspiring presentation.

5K/10K Run For the Hills Fall Fest presented by


October 17, 2015
at Sanford B. Wanner Stadium, Williamsburg

Get details and register online HERE!

Do you love dancing as much as we do?

Save the date for
Starlets of Dance, November 8, 2015!

Boobers! will train with a dance teacher for about two months, then dazzle our audience at the main event on Nov. 8. This is a FUNdraiser that everyone loves!
Stay tuned for details!
Special Thanks to This Year's Sustaining Sponsors
      

If you are interested in becoming a sustaining sponsor, call our office at 757.645.2649

Beyond Boobs! is dedicated to healing and saving lives by supporting young women diagnosed with breast cancer while providing breast health education for all.