October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and pink is certainly the color of the month at City of Hope Orange County.
Doctors at the campus in Irvine have been wearing pink in October for four years now. But on Wednesday, they surprised two dozen breast cancer survivors with their own pink bomber jackets representing courage, resilience and hope.
The event, part of City of Hope’s “Be a Voice of Hope” initiative, was slated to happen outside. Due to the region’s prolonged heatwave, though, it was held inside the lobby of the months-old cancer specialty hospital, which seemed appropriate.
Breast cancer survivor Sade Wilson, left, is introduced by her doctor Veronica Jones during a ceremony at City of Hope Orange County in Irvine on Wednesday.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
City of Hope Orange County President Annette Walker told the 24 women they were given the jackets not simply because they have survived, but because of what they mean to a woman who might be beginning her journey.
“When someone is newly diagnosed, there are so many unknowns,” Walker said. “Sometimes, what she needs most to see is someone who has been where she is, someone who is standing on the other side. Someone who can proclaim, without ever even saying a word, ‘There is life after this, there is joy after this, there is hope.’ That is what each one of you represents.”
One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. In Orange County, that figure increases to one in seven women.
Breast cancer survivors stand on stage as they receive their pink jackets on Wednesday.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
City of Hope estimates that 34,170 women will be diagnosed this year alone in California. But due to advances in screening and precision medicine, overall breast cancer survival rates now exceed 90%.
Advocating for oneself is important. Attendees at Wednesday’s event heard from two breast cancer survivors, Sade Wilson and Ashly Grafton, who each were diagnosed in their 30s.
“When I found out, I called to make a mammogram [appointment],” recalled Grafton, who was diagnosed with triple-negative stage 2 breast cancer in 2018. “The first comment out of the person’s mouth to schedule it was, ‘You’re not 45.’ I’m like, ‘But I’m calling you because my doctor had found something.’ … You have to push and advocate.”
Dr. Jennifer Tseng, medical director of breast surgery at City of Hope Orange County, gets emotional as she introduces a survivor on Wednesday.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
Grafton is a registered nurse who works for City of Hope Orange County as a hematology research manager. She’s been cancer-free for nearly eight years, and said Wednesday’s event showed her there’s hope everywhere.
“I mean, there’s so many people here, so many survivors, and it’s a testament to the research and the doctors,” she said. “It’s showing that we’re moving forward and that you aren’t alone. If you are scared and you do have the diagnosis of breast cancer, there are people here to stand by you and support you and get you through your dark days. It shows you that you have a community, a community you never wanted.”
The work is also personal for Dr. Veronica Jones, chief of the division of breast surgery at City of Hope. She said she committed her life to curing cancer at age 12, after her grandmother died of cancer.
An emotional Tammy McInerney, left, wears her pink jacket proudly after being recognized at City of Hope Orange County in Irvine on Wednesday.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
Jones introduced Wilson to speak at the ceremony. Both are Black women, the demographic that has the highest death rate from breast cancer — nearly 40% higher than white women, according to the American Cancer Society. This highlights the need for earlier detection and more equitable access to care.
Black women are also more likely to develop triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most difficult forms to treat.
“I’m working toward a day where I can look at a patient and say, ‘Cancer won’t come back, we’re confident about that, we know that,’” Jones said in her comments during the ceremony. “But then, even still, survival is not the end of the journey. There are more than 4.3 million survivors in the United States, but they need structured, evidence-based care to make sure that life is whole, healthy, happy, thriving. We need to meet the physical, emotional, financial and social challenges that continue long after.”
City of Hope has more than 100 breast cancer clinical trials currently underway or in development across its national network of cancer centers.
Breast cancer survivor Sade Wilson talks about her journey at City of Hope Orange County in Irvine on Wednesday.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
Walker hopes that if people in the community see a survivor in a pink bomber jacket, it prompts them to schedule a screening. City of Hope urges women to have an initial breast cancer risk assessment at age 25, with annual mammograms starting at age 40.
“We want to be a beacon to people out there,” she said. “If [pink] mentally triggers something, please get screened. Cancer is highly correlated with the stage of detection, so the earlier it’s detected, the better your chance. Those annual screenings, they’re a pain in the you know what, but they’re so important.”
Breast cancer survivors stand on stage for a group picture after Wednesday’s ceremony at City of Hope Orange County.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)