Giving It My Breast Shot: A Night to Remember

Trying to keep me as stress-free as possible, my friends rallied together to throw a fundraiser for me to help me through the financial reality of my situation. I am self-employed and, therefore, unemployed so they took up the cause of keeping me independent and comfortable in my world, near them and my cancer clinic. Words cannot describe the feeling I had throughout the night as one by one people came up to me to share stories of how they've been touched by cancer, who they were related to or friends with and how they just came to uplift and support me. There was a huge turnout and I think half were complete strangers to me at the beginning of the night. By the time the night was done, however, each and every one of their faces will remain forever etched in my memory bank.

TeeTee was definitely at the helm, making sure everything ran smoothly. I could see she was frazzled at times and certainly run off her feet most of the night. But she didn't quit. She never does. She held everything together and really put on a great event. She didn't do it completely alone, of course, and I saw Lori and her husband, Rick, selling 50/50 tickets. There were young people there helping them as well. I know a lot of others chipped in to help make this event successful on the night. The people I know helped (and I'm sorry if I've missed you) are Sabrina (aka Ethel) for making beautiful tickets and helping on the night, Catherine, Taylor, Amber and Kayla who all sold raffle tickets, spiky head sticks and handed out prizes, as well as Michelle and Don (aka Heather and Dave from Boobapalooza in Whistler) who sold silent auction tickets. It was definitely a team effort captained by the enthusiastic TeeTee.

Then there were those who shaved their heads to raise funds and make me feel like there were other baldies so I wouldn't be alone. Leanne went first. She sat beside me and we held hands while our beautiful friend and mutual hairdresser, Michelle, shaved her head in the virtual darkness of the pub. There were only flashing coloured disco lights to work under but Michelle rose to the occasion. As tears flowed down Leanne's face, I looked out into the crowd and saw her daughter, Carrisa, was crying as well. Her husband, Doug, was filming the event and seemed pretty pleased with how beautiful his wife looked bald. She is very pretty with hair but there's something about a woman who can pull off the bald look. This was a very emotional evening for Leanne, as it's close to the six-year anniversary of the passing of her dear friend, "Miss Yvonne", from the same disease I'm battling. I could feel the pain, love and loss through Leanne and my heart broke for her. I was very touched by her gesture. She also managed to raise a lot of pledges as a bonus.

Next was my cousin's husband, Nigel. Liane and Nigel travelled from the Island just so they could be part of my night. They stayed in the local hotel in town and we had an opportunity to visit before, during and after the fundraiser. Nigel is one year clear from his battle with and victory over stomach cancer. I had gone to the Island to run with him for the first time post-treatment and was honoured to spend that special time with him. He said he'd come to run with me when I'm ready. In the meantime, he showed his support not only by attending but by shaving his hair. While he didn't have a lot of hair, it was powerful for me that he would shave his hair after just growing it back in from his bout with chemotherapy. He and Liane have been extremely supportive throughout my battle, offering experience and love.

Then it was time for the youngest supporter, Taylor. She is TeeTee's almost-20-year-old daughter. She had beautiful hair. I know most young women would never consider shaving their heads as hair identifies a young woman's look. Not Taylor. What identifies Taylor is her beautiful outlook on life. She is wise beyond her years and would never hesitate to give anything she could to make someone else's life a little easier. Like mother like daughter. I've known Taylor her whole life and while she always surprises me with her maturity as well as her goofy humour, I've never felt so bonded to her than in that moment as she had her friends shave strips of hair from her head. She also raised a lot of pledges for my benefit. Her friends are young and very generous. A couple of her friends went out of their way to introduce themselves to me and I realized how incredibly generous and kind they are.

Last but not least was Mark. He is the husband of my friend, Susie. I met Mark only a couple of years ago but I have known Susie forever. Susie and I met on the Seabus on our way to work one day and have been friends ever since. During Mark's head shaving one of the songs I love to bop to was playing and I got my second wind. I was holding his hand like all the others while they lost their hair and the music gave me energy. I was singing and dancing while seated and that was really fun. The young girls there were laughing at me and recording me so I'm thinking I could be a You Tube sensation that goes viral. Mark told me Susie would banish him to the guest room till his hair grew back (and of course I offered him a warm blanket) but once she saw him hairless, she quite liked it so I think it's all good.

Paul was our deejay and really did a great job. He had everyone dancing and laughing all night. He was very sweet and said he'd do anything he could to help me. The pub made a generous donation to the cause as well and made the night very special overall. Steve, the owner, said he was happy to support me. Wow.

There were raffle prizes and many creative ways to raise money to help me. While I was completely humbled and thankful for the financial assistance, it was the outpouring of love from friends, family and complete strangers that overwhelmed and overjoyed me. It truly was a night to remember.