Marie Burrows
Marie was 8 weeks pregnant with her first child when she was diagnosed at age 32 with breast cancer.
“Everything became all about the baby. Everything I did for my own well-being always came with a question of how it would affect Sam and his outcome. Now that Sam was born happy and healthy (even after going through chemo with me), finally I get to start to focus on my own well-being and living a long, healthy life.”
An Adjunct Professor at Marquette University, Marie was inspired to become a 2016 Rare Chair Affair Survivor Artist after attending the event last year. She felt the event would be right up her alley since she was a studio art major in college.
Marie says she wants breast cancer research to focus more on later stage cancers. “My best friend was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer two weeks before me. It’s had an extreme effect on the way I see the world. We definitely need to see more research in the field of those with advanced cancer.”
She also wishes for health care systems to respond better to the differences in breast cancer journeys for younger women as compared with older women. “Treatment may be the same” for both groups, she said, “but the emotional parts of the cancer journey are different. There’s so many different fears, especially for someone with a young child or children.”
Rocksand Byrd
Rocksand heard about the Rare Chair Affair from friends at another Wisconsin breast cancer group, Sisters4Cure. “They both made it sound like something fun to do. In addition, the auction looked like one awesome event to share with other survivors,” Rocksand said.
A Milwaukee educator, Rocksand said she has become more grateful after her diagnosis. “It’s simple. I am grateful for life and all the things I once took for granted. My life is about living and finding new avenues to explore. I am grateful to God for research that has created life-saving cures.”
Rocksand would like to see more breast cancer research in the area of drug therapies that do not cause nerve damage.
Wendy Carlson
Whitefish Bay resident Wendy Carlson was diagnosed at age 42, an event that inspired her to work to make a difference. “I believe every dollar that can be raised is just one dollar invested to get closer to finding a cure for breast cancer, while helping people facing the disease along the way.”
An Associated Bank Vice-President of Private Banking, Wendy and her mother Roberta Williams are one of three mother-daughter painting teams this year. Wendy says that breast cancer was a humbling experience for her, and it caused her to think about life differently.
“It sounds like a cliché, but don’t sweat about the small stuff. Life is so much bigger than worries about it. Tell the people in your life what they mean to you TODAY. Don’t take life for granted because you never know what tomorrow will bring.”
Wendy would like to see policy makers eliminate barriers to access to screening and treatment. “I think access to care and treatment and education around breast cancer is vital, because early detection saves lives.”
Zandra Clevert
This Glendale resident and mom of three is one of three mother-daughter teams who are Survivor Artists this year, partnering with her 8-year-old daughter Charli.
Since her diagnosis at age 42, Zandra finds life to be precious, and she wanted to become a Survivor Artist this year because “I believe in the organization, and I have friends who did this in the past who loved the experience.”
Zandra’s journey with breast cancer has been devastating, transformative, life-altering, scary and galvanizing. Her present concern is for research funding to increase for metastatic breast cancer. “It needs to match levels that align with the percentage of women who have metastatic breast cancer at first diagnosis,” she said. She would also like to ensure that health systems and insurance systems enable patients to stay an appropriate length of time in hospitals following breast cancer surgeries.
Jo DeMars
Jo is the Rare Chair Affair’s most experienced alum, mentoring many of our Survivor Artists in recent years and volunteering for the WBCC in other ways, including a past stint on our board of directors. Her long experience comes from her support of the WBCC’s mission.
“I’ve always admired the advocacy work the WBCC does, and I want to support these activities. There is no other organization in Wisconsin that does this work, and the unrepresented need someone to speak for them.”
Jo appreciates the WBCC’s emphasis on breast cancer prevention. “I hope to see research help us learn how to avoid cancer. All the detection, all the treatment, all the support will then be able to take a back seat to prevention. I dream of a world in which my children and grandchildren know a cancer diagnosis is no more serious than appendicitis.”
Jo has traveled a path that began with fear and anger, and moved towards hope, resolve and peace, since she was diagnosed at age 59. Her days are now filled with “learning to take the good days with the bad, accepting that there is a time and a place for all things in this world, loving each new experience for the lessons I can gain, and appreciating the friends and family with whom I have been blessed to share this journey.”
Sherie Drees
“Life is fragile, no matter how strong you think your mind or body is a the moment,” observes Sherie, who was 35 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and who participated in the 2015 Rare Chair Affair while she was undergoing chemotherapy.
“Your health is a gift, not something to be taken for granted. A day should be cherished, not raced through. Your family and friends should be loved, your list of to-dos should include the things you actually want to be doing.”
Sherie remembers May 11 as the date when she first found her lump, the beginning of an awakening of purpose for her.
“My health concerns were not seen as valid in the beginning, and I was made to feel as though I were overreacting due to my young age,” she said. “I want to see healthcare providers understand the great risk all women and men face with the increase in breast cancer, and for them to take the appropriate measures to ensure the best care.”
Sherie will bring her artistic expertise to the 2016 Rare Chair Affair this year. An Art Teacher and Whitefish Bay parent, she values her Survivor Artist experiences “because throughout my own diagnosis and treatment, meeting with other breast cancer survivors really helped me to feel grounded during a time where my life was in upheaval.”
Tracey Ellicson-Ratzburg
“I am an artist. I am a survivor. And this event goes hand-in-hand,” says Tracey about becoming involved with the Rare Chair Affair. A Cedarburg resident, Tracey, mom of four, was diagnosed at age 44. Since then, she has focused on trying to hurry up and at the same time slow down in life, but it’s been tricky: “Never at the right times.” Tracey hopes for a cure to breast cancer.
Pilar Moller
ilar is another one of our returning Survivor Artist alums, who feels that her experience in 2015 was great because it introduced her to so many other amazing survivors.
“Cancer is a crummy club that nobody wants to join, but the strength and spirit of the women I have met along this journey have really changed my life in amazing ways,” she says.
Pilar, a Milwaukee sales specialist, feels strongly that health care systems need to continue to offer preventative care to women under 40, and that all women should have access to quality healthcare and to breast cancer screening.
“We get one chance at this crazy thing called life. Strap yourself in and enjoy the ride. Life is way too short to sweat the small stuff,” she said, adding that another great thing to remember about life is “Tacos, always tacos.”
Jane Moore
Since her diagnosis at age 65, Jane has become interested in urging researchers to focus on treatments for Triple Negative breast cancer, and for everyone to learn more about environmental factors that affect breast cancer risk for young girls so that we can do better with breast cancer prevention.
She wonders if she might have discovered her own lump earlier if she had been better skilled in self-examination and feels that public awareness needs to be raised about women’s higher relative risk of breast cancer after age 65. Her experience with breast cancer left her needing ongoing massage therapy for radiation damage, and specialists in this therapy are not easy to find.
However, “I live much more in the present moment and enjoy it,” since breast cancer, she says. “I am better at managing worry and fear and have learned to stop myself form going down that path. I am taking better care of myself. I am thankful; I am happy; I am alive.”
Jane is returning as a Survivor Artist this year because of her great experience in 2015. “I was so inspired meeting the other Survivor Artists. It gave me hope, it was fun and it is a way to support advocacy and research to work toward a cure for all types of breast cancer.”
Lindsey O’Connor
Breast Cancer research should focus more on metastatic cancer, says this Human Resources specialist who was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 35.
Lindsey is a Survivor Artist alum, and she says she continues to participate in the Rare Chair Affair “to express my appreciation for what WBCC does on behalf of survivors, patients and anyone affected by the disease.”
“Plus, it is a really fun event!”
Her journey with breast cancer has been alternately challenging, scary, exhausting and redefining. But she has come through it with a commitment to valuing all that life offers.
“Life is meant to be lived. I try not to take anything or any day for granted. A wise friend coined the phrase, ‘Every day matters.’”
Ann Scannell
Ann was 42 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. The Kewaskum resident said her experience was frightening and eye-opening, but that she felt buoyed by luck, warmth and love.
“Every day is a blessing. I have had the opportunity to help my family and daughter by alerting them to the gene we have, and I am thankful to be here and to help take care of others,” she says. Ann and her daughter Amanda are one of three mother-daughter artist teams at the Rare Chair Affair this year. The gene mutation affecting her family is a BRCA gene mutation that is associated with high breast cancer risk.
Ann said she was grateful for the fine treatment she experienced after her diagnosis. She joined this year’s Survivor Artists because it looked unique and fun. “I am lucky enough to not have recurred, so I wanted to be able to give back in some small way.”
Ann said she hopes that breast cancer research will focus on prevention, particularly for those with BRCA gene mutations.
Amanda Schmidt
Amanda wanted to join her mother Ann Scannell as a Survivor Artist this year at the Rare Chair Affair.
“Being diagnosed with the gene and going through my mother’s overcoming of breast cancer has really inspired me to be involved in supporting others in similar situations,” she reflected. “We quickly found that having a support group is one of the most important things for recovery in health and mind.”
Because of the high risk for breast cancer for those who carry a mutation in their BRCA genes, Amanda would like to see more breast cancer research on genetic susceptibility and on breast cancer prevention.
The Glendale resident who is a manager by profession notes that her world view has become this: “We only have one single life. We’ve got to live it to the fullest.”
Molly Schwarzenberger
Molly will mark an important anniversary this September.
“September is the 40th anniversary of my mom’s death from breast cancer,” Molly said. Molly’s mother owned a flower shop, and Molly herself was a floral designer for 30 years. “Her life has been a great inspiration for mine. Being a Survivor Artist for the RCA is carrying on a legacy of living creatively on purpose, rather than simply by accident.”
Now a clothing designer based in Milwaukee, Molly said she feels that her life after her diagnosis at age 53 is blessed and overflowing with grace and wisdom, for which she is grateful.
“I am more focused on defining and carrying out what God’s purpose is for my life,” she said. “My relationships with people and living a life that glorifies and honors God is far more important than the accumulation of things. I am more thankful with Joy.”
She urges Wisconsin decision-makers to make sure “that every woman is able to get the care that she needs to be completely cured of cancer, and not just the care that insurance companies will allow.” Health care providers can help survivors by “treating individuals better, and not just as statistics.”
Roberta Williams
Roberta sums up her breast cancer experience in these words: frightening, rewarding, helping, accepting and life-changing. The positive outlook is something she works on every day. “Each day is important to use wisely,” she noted, adding that she hopes to share what she has learned with others. One important piece of advice: “Listen closely. Don’t let negative people into your thoughts.”
Roberta and her daughter Wendy Carlson are one of three mom-and-daughter painting teams at this year’s event. Roberta said she got involved with the Rare Chair Affair because she loves to create, and she and Wendy wanted to help the WBCC raise funds. Roberta lives in Bayside and was diagnosed at age 60.
Roberta said she hopes breast cancer policy makers will help ensure that women will not have to worry about the length and extent of their treatment programs. Women should not have to worry about a job being in jeopardy because of their diagnosis. Roberta also hopes that health care systems increasingly approach each breast cancer case individually, to fit radiation, chemotherapy, surgery and other treatments to each person’s specific needs.