The Meaning of
PinkRibbon
PinkRibbon
The beginning of Pink Ribbon is a story very near and dear to my heart. I grew up in a
single parent family with a mother that was the epiphany of all mothers. We did everything
together and never fought. She found the money put me in dance lessons and give me
whatever I wanted.
On February 2nd, 1990, my mother was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. As a thirteen year
old, I really didn't understand. My mother went to Windsor for radiation and came back and
everything was fine. We forgot about the disease and went on living. Mom taught Early
Childhood Education at a college level and I went on to graduate high school. In my first
year away from my mother, we learned to adapt to being apart.
On February 4th, 1996, my world came crashing down around me. Mom was diagnosed
with Breast Cancer again. However this time, it was more aggressive and had lymph node
involvement. This cancer was not associated with the first one just six years earlier. It had
it's own pathology and was rapidly growing. This time we spent months in chemotherapy
and wearing funky hats that mom soon became known for. She decided to come to
Sudbury for radiation as that is where I went to university. Together again.
On February 10th 1997, after a routine bone scan, mom was called by the oncologist.
They had found a hot spot on her tail bone. She now was diagnosed with Metastatic
Breast Cancer. The radiologist didn't know how long it had been there or how aggressive it
was. I can vividly remember that day, mom and I slumped to the floor crying and holding
one another. How could this happen? Back to Sudbury for more radiation and daily doses
of prescription drugs. And with a diagnoses of a 50% chance of living two years.
Mom wasn't going to allow a number decide her life. She left her job as a professor and
starting living her life the way she wanted. She became a facilitator of the local breast
cancer support group and joined an organization called Willow. A large support agency in
Toronto for individuals struggling with the disease. From that association, mom was asked
to take part in a discussion group about how to present the findings of a research paper on
Metastatic Breast Cancer. That started "Handle With Care?" A play that went North
American wide discussing Metastatic Breast Cancer and how to be involved with families
and individuals with the disease. Mom and another remarkable woman who was also was
diagnosed with Metastatic disease Mary Sue Douglas, became instant stars as they
travelled and performed in this new play. Mom had became alive again. She was no longer
a woman with a disease but a woman who needed others to know. This was a cause that
she felt needed to be brought to the fore front. From this play, came a documentary on the
lives of the two stars, mom and Mary Sue. "How Do We Love You?" directed by the
wonderful Laura Sky, debuted a month after mom passed away. She lived almost four
years after the diagnosis. Mary Sue went on to present the documentary for another
couple of months until the disease became too much. Mary Sue passed away in March
2001.
Mom and I spent the last months of our life together... together as it always had been. I
slept at the hospital, ate there and watched my mom slip away. I spent hours singing and
reading to her in hopes that she could hear me and know that I was close. On a cold
October Sunday, mom closed her eyes for the last time and said goodbye.
So this is how Pink Ribbon got its name. To remember a wonderful, caring woman that
hated no one and touched hearts across North America.
single parent family with a mother that was the epiphany of all mothers. We did everything
together and never fought. She found the money put me in dance lessons and give me
whatever I wanted.
On February 2nd, 1990, my mother was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. As a thirteen year
old, I really didn't understand. My mother went to Windsor for radiation and came back and
everything was fine. We forgot about the disease and went on living. Mom taught Early
Childhood Education at a college level and I went on to graduate high school. In my first
year away from my mother, we learned to adapt to being apart.
On February 4th, 1996, my world came crashing down around me. Mom was diagnosed
with Breast Cancer again. However this time, it was more aggressive and had lymph node
involvement. This cancer was not associated with the first one just six years earlier. It had
it's own pathology and was rapidly growing. This time we spent months in chemotherapy
and wearing funky hats that mom soon became known for. She decided to come to
Sudbury for radiation as that is where I went to university. Together again.
On February 10th 1997, after a routine bone scan, mom was called by the oncologist.
They had found a hot spot on her tail bone. She now was diagnosed with Metastatic
Breast Cancer. The radiologist didn't know how long it had been there or how aggressive it
was. I can vividly remember that day, mom and I slumped to the floor crying and holding
one another. How could this happen? Back to Sudbury for more radiation and daily doses
of prescription drugs. And with a diagnoses of a 50% chance of living two years.
Mom wasn't going to allow a number decide her life. She left her job as a professor and
starting living her life the way she wanted. She became a facilitator of the local breast
cancer support group and joined an organization called Willow. A large support agency in
Toronto for individuals struggling with the disease. From that association, mom was asked
to take part in a discussion group about how to present the findings of a research paper on
Metastatic Breast Cancer. That started "Handle With Care?" A play that went North
American wide discussing Metastatic Breast Cancer and how to be involved with families
and individuals with the disease. Mom and another remarkable woman who was also was
diagnosed with Metastatic disease Mary Sue Douglas, became instant stars as they
travelled and performed in this new play. Mom had became alive again. She was no longer
a woman with a disease but a woman who needed others to know. This was a cause that
she felt needed to be brought to the fore front. From this play, came a documentary on the
lives of the two stars, mom and Mary Sue. "How Do We Love You?" directed by the
wonderful Laura Sky, debuted a month after mom passed away. She lived almost four
years after the diagnosis. Mary Sue went on to present the documentary for another
couple of months until the disease became too much. Mary Sue passed away in March
2001.
Mom and I spent the last months of our life together... together as it always had been. I
slept at the hospital, ate there and watched my mom slip away. I spent hours singing and
reading to her in hopes that she could hear me and know that I was close. On a cold
October Sunday, mom closed her eyes for the last time and said goodbye.
So this is how Pink Ribbon got its name. To remember a wonderful, caring woman that
hated no one and touched hearts across North America.
| Janet Kathryn Livingston May 31 1949 - October 15 2000 |