"Nothing is impossible. The word itself says I'm Possible ." - Audrey Hepburn
Dear Friend of BB!,
Here at BB! HQ, we talk a lot about living a healthy lifestyle, both around the office and to our Boober! family. We believe that having your best life (whether you have breast cancer or not) starts with loving yourself, and to really love yourself means to treat your body with care - water it, exercise it, feed it well, and give it adequate rest, attention, and fun.
Sometimes at HQ, we get so involved in our work (which we love!) that we sometimes find ourselves neglecting this important aspect, and so this summer, we set aside a little time each week to do something for our wellness, as a group! One of our many activities (like juicing, working out, and making origami flowers) included inviting Ben Thacker-Gwaltney of Metta Yoga & Meditation to our office to help us learn about mindfulness meditation. We each took something different from the experience, but I think one of the biggest takeaways for all was how important it is to be able to concentrate on the present moment without living too much in the past (regret) or the future (worry). As we well know in the BB! family, life can change course on a dime, and none of us are guaranteed to live to a ripe old age; being aware of each moment as it unfolds and keeping our attention centered on the now means we can truly be grateful for what is here. This way, we will not waste even one precious second!
It's not always easy to live your best life, but it's important to try. This is part of our culture at HQ, and we want to be sure we're not just talking the talk, but we're also walking the walk. Actually, skipping - if you know us, you know we'd be skipping, not walking  

Summer Hugs,
Mary Beth Gibson, Executive Director
What's Happening at BB!?
Have Mic, Will Travel!
Co-Founders Mary Beth and Rene, along with Miss August 2016
BB! CO-Founder Rene Bowditch with VASFAA then-president Michael Farris.
Mary Ashby, got a chance to speak about breast health and the importance of being a community resource at a recent Virginia Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (VASFAA) conference at Kingsmill. "Opening doors and changing lives" was the theme of the conference, and we know all about newly opened doors and life changes here at BB! As a result of hearing Rene and Mary Beth speak, the organizer of the conference knew who to reach out to when her neighbor was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, which is one of the main reasons we do speaking engagements! We always have our arms open, ready to scoop up whomever we find into a big hug! Thanks to the folks at VASFAA for raising funds for us during the conference and for inviting us to attend.

Did you know that if you shop on Amazon Smile, you get all those great Amazon deals AND a portion of every order goes to a charity of your choice - like Beyond Boobs!? It's so easy. Give it a shot, and help us with our mission! Click here!
You can also shop on GoodShop - find deals at thousands of stores, and GoodShop donates to the charity of your choice! Just register and choose a charity, then start shopping online. If you use their internet search toolbar GoodSearch, a penny gets donated to your charity, just for looking up stuff on the internet. Cool!
BLOG
2017 Calendar Models: Meet Adriana!
Our fab BLOG writer, Jamie McAllister, talked to all our 2017 calendar models and put together blog posts introducing them! We're sharing one a week until the big calendar reveal at the Pink Carpet Gala - read Adriana's post here and then read all the others here!
"Go Beyond Pink with BB!" -  What Does That Mean?!
Here at BB! HQ, we're thinking ahead to October, which is a month when everything (food packaging, socks, hair accessories, you know the drill) turns pink to recognize "breast cancer awareness." We invite your club or business to plan ahead with us for "Pink-tober" and help us as we try to get beyond awareness and into action - let's all Go Beyond Pink!
What exactly does that mean? We are all aware of breast cancer and it's reach into every community, regardless of race, age, or creed. We don't need a pink cookie or bracelet to remind us. What we need is to help survivors in our own backyards. At BB!, we're helping survivors every day as they work through diagnosis on their way to what we hope will be their new fabulous, and all the dollars you raise for us go towards our mission to support them. So before October rolls around, we hope you'll plan to Go Beyond Pink with BB! Just come up with a fun event (in September or October, or beyond), and we'll provide you with marketing materials to help make it a success! And if you can't come up with an idea, look here or email vicki@beyondboobs.org and we'll help you come up with something fantastic.
August Calendar Model!
MARY, 38
DIAGNOSED AT 35
IMMEDIATE FAMILY HISTORY, NO KNOWN GENETIC MUTATION
IT Specialist, wife, and mother of a young daughter, Mary felt a golf ball sized lump in her breast during a routine self-exam in the shower. The ER doctor she saw that night and the primary care physician she visited two days later told her she was "too young to have breast cancer," she "didn't have typical symptoms," and it "was probably nothing." Read the rest of Mary's story here!
Save the Date!!
Click here for details or to get tickets!
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For Your Health!
"Current treatments for cancer, including radiotherapy and chemotherapy, normally hamper immune cells' efforts to kill a cancer. Short-term starvation has been shown to sensitize cancer cells to chemo while protecting normal cells from these drugs' side effects."
from Breast Cancer News
Fruit and Veggies Give You the Feel-Good Factor
"Researchers concluded that people who changed from almost no fruit and veg to eight portions of fruit and veg a day would experience an increase in life satisfaction equivalent to moving from unemployment to employment."
from Science Daily
Vegan Tofu, Broccoli, and Soba Noodle Stir Fry
from
Try this delicious vegan stir fry as a yummy way to use tofu! It's great for Meatless Monday (or meatless any day!) The full recipe is on The Health Journal here.
THANK YOU!!
to our calendar sponsor this month:

THANK YOU 
to our sponsors!

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

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