In May 2006, the day of her 6-year-old son's birthday, Mary Beth Gibson '86 was diagnosed with breast cancer, and subsequently had to undergo eight chemotherapy sessions, a double mastectomy and 36 radiation treatments. At a retreat for breast cancer survivors four months later, Gibson met Rene Bowditch J.D. '82, a fellow survivor and William and Mary law professor. The two discovered a common thread, in that both felt there were limited resources available for premenopausal women dealing with cancer. That's when they decided to form Beyond Boobs!, a small, informal support group for young breast cancer survivors in the Tidewater Virginia area.
"We just used our William and Mary ethic," explains Bowditch. "If something is wrong and you know it, you take your training and you go and do something about it."
Gibson was 41 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, following in the hereditary footsteps of her grandmother and mother, who were both diagnosed at age 40. Like most women in Beyond Boobs!, Gibson feels that she received a delayed diagnosis as a result of being considered "too young" for breast cancer. Although only 5 percent of new breast cancer diagnoses will be made in women under the age of 40, that represents over 11,000 young women who will be diagnosed this year. Because of fear, denial or lack of knowledge, many young women don't initially seek medical attention when they sense that something is wrong. In premenopausal women especially, delay in detection combined with a high hormone level can be a lethal combination.
The motto behind Beyond Boobs! is "not your typical support group," and it's not. The group's latest project, a 2008 calendar titled "A Calendar To Live By," depicts local breast cancer survivors post-diagnosis. Four William and Mary alumni grace its pages, including Gibson and Bowditch, with photographs and design courtesy of local award-winning photographer Monica Sigmon '94. Jenn Barton Crippen, associate director of development for the Fund for William and Mary, is on the board of directors for the group. "It's great to have six women affiliated with W&M involved in the project," explains Gibson.
Gibson's portrait forms the cover: she stands in profile, strong and statuesque as a floral wraparound flutters elegantly behind her. "In my portrait I wanted to show that you don't have to have breasts to be feminine, to be attractive," she explains. "We're beyond that. We're beyond boobs.
"The entire concept behind this calendar is to show that cancer is not a death sentence," she continues. "You can be beautiful and feel alive in the experience."
Each month of the calendar features a different young survivor, portraying a word that she has come to appreciate through her experience as a cancer survivor. In February, under the word "love," a series of images show a bald and glowing Catherine Nesmith Perez M.Ed. '05 lovingly shaving her husband's hair off. Bowditch is featured under the word "laugh" for October as her alter ego, "The Good Health Fairy."
The calendar is a visual representation of the message behind Beyond Boobs!: they advocate cancer awareness with laughter and life in hopes that it will become a subject as normal as flossing. "We want to dispel the fear surrounding breast cancer and make it something you would normally talk to your friends on campus about," says Bowditch. "Our goal is to take issues about breast cancer from simple awareness to action."
In addition to the portraits, the calendar contains an array of educational information about breast cancer and resources that run the gamut from where to get genetic testing done to nurturing the mind, body and spirit.
When you talk about Mary Beth Gibson, it's hard not to talk about all of the cancer survivors who make up Beyond Boobs! "It's not about me or the calendar. It's about teaching women to love themselves. It's about saving lives."
To learn more about Beyond Boobs! and to order a copy of "A Calendar to Live By," visit www.beyondboobs.org.
