Interview with Kathy Peters, Making Strides Director, American Cancer Society

By Lynne Browne, Pink Purse Project and Making Strides fundraiser

My main objective for this interview was to find out how an organization uses social media tools to fund-raise. Just the week before our interview, the news about the government's advisory council changing their age recommendations for women's mammograms hit the airwaves. I did ask Kathy about this because breast cancer is THE reason why Making Strides Against Breast Cancer exists.

PPP: Kathy, thank you for letting me interview you. I’d like to take care of the details first. What is your role and title at American Cancer Society (ACS)?

Kathy: My title is Director of Special Events. I am in charge of Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, and run 3 Relay for Life events – Rome, Camden, and Whitesboro.

PPP: How long have you been at ACS?

Kathy: 18 years

PPP: How long has the ACS been using an online fund-raising website to allow teams to raise money?

Kathy: Making Strides has been using online fund-raising for four years. We also use an online fund-raising site for Relay for Life and Coaches vs. Cancer.

PPP: Do you feel that online fund-raising has been helpful? How so?

Kathy: Absolutely. Some events/teams have been quicker to embrace the technology, but it seems that use of the different sites has been increasing.

PPP: Is there a trend in increased online participants or dollars raised? (I know when I started there weren’t too many teams adding their information - it seems that more people are going online and doing this now.)

Kathy: More money is being raised online. What’s nice about the website, is that people can track their progress. They also can email friends and relatives and ask for donations. There isn’t a geographical limitation anymore. Instead of being a local event, it can become a world-wide event.

PPP: There is a total on the website that shows how much has been donated to date… is this information helpful to everyone back at the office to have a general idea of how much has already been raised before the actual event? Does it take the pressure off?

Kathy: The total on the website is a great gauge to see how all the teams are doing. We are constantly looking at the site and watching their progress. Checking the site also helps us track our Pacesetters (individuals who raise $2,500 or more). We like to acknowledge our Pacesetters at the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk – checking the website allows us to find out who will be a Pacesetter – even if it is at the eleventh hour.

PPP: I know that in 2008, users were able to put a link on MySpace and in 2009, ACS added Facebook as well. Do you think this was beneficial? Did you use either of these sites to promote Making Strides?

Kathy: We also had an account on Twitter. I used Facebook to promote my fund-raising efforts. It worked pretty well, but it didn’t seem to keep up-to-date with my actual progress. But other than that, listing on my Facebook page was helpful. I did get donations through Facebook.

PPP: Do you know of any other users who posted information on their MySpace or Facebook account about Making Strides? How was the response to their social networking?

Kathy: Bob in our office posted his information on Facebook – he got a nice donation from one of his classmates that he hadn’t seen in years – but because it was out there on his Facebook page – he received a donation from someone he didn’t have to actively ask.

PPP: Are there other social networking tools other than Facebook and MySpace that were being used in 2009?

Kathy: I think we did a pretty good job using social media to promote Making Strides. I think we’ll consider this a “jumping off” year and look to see how we can use these tools even more next year and into the future.

PPP: I know I posted photos from the 2009 Making Strides walk on my Facebook account. Do you know of any other walkers who did this? What was the feedback?

Kathy: I posted some photos on my Facebook account. I don’t really know how many people did this. I think we can look in this area to improve. Maybe promote it during the August breakfast to the team leaders. Tell them about our Facebook pages and ask them to share their photos.

View Lynne's photos on Facebook

View Kathy’s photos on Facebook

PPP: I know I had taken a photo of a little girl walking with her mom. She looked so cute with her pink ribbon bandana “dress”. I posted one of the pictures of her from the back because I didn’t have permission, but her mom found the image and tagged it. I asked her for permission to put the other photo I had of her daughter up in my album and she wrote on my wall "absolutely." She used it as her profile photo for a while.

Kathy: This is the anecdotal information I like to hear. I can take this type of info and share it with others so we can highlight more things like this next year.

PPP: Does the ACS use social networking sites to promote other fund-raising events or give “fans” general information? Do you think people are receptive to this?

Kathy: Yes. We use social networking for Relay for Life, Coaches for Cancer, and general information. I’m not sure if we use it for Daffodil Days, but I’m guessing we will next year. We have a great e-philanthropy person – she is always on Facebook and posting feeds about upcoming events and news regarding American Cancer Society.

PPP: Do you think an online fund-raising site increases donations? I personally feel there is a “friendly competition” to see who can be the biggest fund-raiser. Do you think this a good thing?

Kathy: I do think online fund-raising does increase contributions. Again, it takes the event from a regionalized event to a global event. Fundraisers are not limited by geography anymore. As far as the friendly competition... oh yes, there definitely is friendly competitions going on. Our teams seem to be watching each other and trying to “beat” the other teams. Of course, we are all on the same “team” because its really about “us” vs. cancer.

PPP: Do you have any comments from any other online users that you would be willing to share?

Kathy: I really don’t have anything to share. I think we need to do a better job with this.

PPP: Can you share any new and exciting improvements for next year’s fund-raising effort?

Kathy: Next year we plan on having mammography reminders, coaching emails (like when a Pacesetter is getting close to her goal), and auto responder videos embedded in emails. Also, the Hope Shop (an online store where you can purchase pink ribbon items) will be highlighted on the website and probably on Facebook as well.

PPP: Speaking of mammogram reminders… what did YOU think about the recent news regarding the new guidelines for mammograms for those people who are not at-risk? Did you hear from others?

Kathy: I can tell you this. I heard from a lot of survivors who are/were in their forties when they were diagnosed. A lot of them were getting calls from others when they heard the news and all were saying things like, “…we thought of you when this was announced.” The American Cancer Society is NOT changing its recommendation for mammograms. We still believe that early detection saves lives. While a mammogram might not be the best tool to detect breast cancer for women in their 40s because of dense tissue, this is the best tool we have right now.

I watched many women during Making Strides walk by the bandstand this past October who were younger than 50 who were wearing “survivor” shirts. This is why we continue to raise money for this cause. We want to find a better way of diagnosing breast cancer earlier. This is why we walk.

PPP: Thanks again Kathy for taking the time for this interview. You and everyone at the American Cancer Society do a great job - I know I personally appreciate your hard work.

Side note:

Kathy’s interests when not at work include hanging out with her grandchildren and quilling. You can find her at local craft shows with her beautiful projects and online at www.kathysquills.com

Mammograms at 50 instead of 40?

This blog was written and posted a couple of weeks after the actual "event." If I wrote it immediately following the news, there probably would be a lot of #$(*&#$*(& #(*$(*#$& characters in this blog.

It’s Monday night, November 16, and I’m sitting in my computer room and I hear the television in the living room and NBC’s Brian Williams say something like, “coming up, a new recommendation for mammograms…” I don’t catch what he’s talking about and then NBC goes to commercial. A few minutes later, Brian is back with Dr. Susan Love (an expert on breast cancer) and one of the founders of Army of Women…. I stand near the television and listen to what this new government advisory group’s findings are (United States Preventative Services Task Force). Mammograms should not be given to women who are 40 years old, but should begin at 50. My jaw dropped. What? I looked at my husband… who couldn’t believe it either.

Brian asks Dr. Love’s opinion – and to my utter astonishment, she agrees with the advisory task force. She says something like, “This is what I’ve been saying all along.” Blah blah blah. A mammogram for younger women is not the best tool for diagnosis because younger women have dense tissue – and it’s like looking for a polar bear in a snow storm. The task force information states the risk/benefit equation and shows that only ONE cancer death out of 1,904 women in the 40-49 age is prevented by a mammogram.

Now… I’m seeing “red rats.” I am SO mad that I can barely contain myself. I realize that a mammogram might not be the best tool to diagnose breast cancer in younger women, but it is THE tool we have right now, so even if it’s not the best tool, we should continue to use it. Some of the information provided by this group is that a mammogram that may be a false positive makes a woman anxious, especially those women deemed “low risk.” Give me a break. I would choose being anxious for a little while instead of waiting until I was 50 to find out I had stage III or stage IV cancer and to “get my affairs in order” because my cancer wasn’t caught early enough.

I guess you’ve figured out that I have a personal interest in this recommendation. I was 43 when I was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer. AND…IF I didn’t have a mammogram until I was 50, I might not have made it much past 50. AND… if there were so few women diagnosed in their 40s with breast cancer, how come I personally know SO MANY of these women?

After the news report, I decided I would write an email to Dr. Love. I went on the Army of Women website and found a contact email. For some strange reason, my email didn’t want to work that night. And guess what? There was a phone number listed. And guess what? I called it! And guess what? I spoke to a HUMAN! It wasn’t Dr. Love, but a lady named Dakota. I believe she is the head of the foundation. I said something like, “Hello Dakota, my name is Lynne and I just heard Dr. Love on the Nightly News with Brian Williams… and WHAT IS SHE THINKING!” and I proceeded to say a lot of things to this woman – and she listened, and interjected in a kind way. I also told her, “You better be prepared to take a lot of angry calls on this.” She replied. “We are.”

I went in and out of YELLING at this woman and then trying to calm myself down to sound like a rational woman. It’s a difficult thing when something like this hits so close to home. I thanked her for listening to me and I felt SO much better.

I also wrote an email to Dr. Love. My husband told me to write in the email. “My husband hopes a polar bear in a snowstorm eats you.” Of course, I didn’t write this, but it is funny and helped lighten the mood a little.

You might be surprised, but I DID get a response to my email from the Army of Women. They told me I should take my anger and put it to good use to help find a better way to diagnose breast cancer in younger women.

I will, but I think I will stick with helping the American Cancer Society do this by raising money through my Pink Purse Project and SUNYIT Team Violette.

Yes, I was under 50 when diagnosed, and to be honest, the doctor MISSED my cancer when I was 40. It was only when a cyst NEXT to the mass showed up on a mammogram almost 3 years later, that my cancer was detected, removed and treated.

And.. here’s to all the women who were under 50, who were not “at risk” and whose breast cancer was diagnosed by a mammogram. I’m sure you all feel that you are important enough to be the ONE of the 1 out of 1,904 whose cancer was diagnosed. I know I am.

Author Kelly Corrigan visits Utica

In November I had the opportunity to see Kelly Corrigan, the author of the book “The Middle Place” in Utica at a dinner hosted by the ABC (After Breast Cancer) Group and Faxton-St. Luke’s Hospital. This book is about Kelly’s breast cancer diagnosis and how she dealt with everything that was going on in her life including her father’s diagnosis with cancer.

My friend Kathy asked me to go and see Kelly speak during October, but for some reason, the dinner was delayed until November. Kathy bought Kelly’s book for me, but I didn’t know if I wanted to read another book about breast cancer, because I had already lived it and was so “over” BC. (You are really never over it if you’ve been diagnosed.)

Well, I had a lot of work to do for the class I was taking, a huge freelance project, and all of the other things that were going on in my life… I put the book away and didn’t get to read it before I went to hear Kelly speak.

We arrived at the Radisson early that night and the majority of the audience seemed to be breast cancer survivors or friends and family of survivors. My friend Kathy went into the big dinning room and chose the table we would sit at. And… I somehow got the closest seat in the house. Right up front – no one to block my view (which I like).

Kelly got up to speak just as we were being served our dessert (sorry Kelly). Her great personality shone through especially when she yelled out, “Make sure I get a dessert!” I felt like I was in my living room listening to one of my best friends. I got to see the subtle expressions and body language she used when she spoke and read from her book. The excerpts she read were funny and sometimes a little sad, but totally real– and I really enjoyed it. I wished I had made the time to read the book (and actually located it before the talk, because I could have had her sign my book). I went home after the dinner and told myself I needed to find the book and read it – I had to make the time for it.

I woke up the next day with a very sore throat and a start of a cold. I decided to call in sick, so I could rest and not spread any germs. I hunted up Kelly’s book and started to read it. I laughed out loud at the part when her husband called the little boy a “f****r” because the boy said she looked like a monster (she had cleaned it up for the talk and changed the boy to a girl and the swear word to “witch - with a B.”) Her writing was very personable and I felt like we had been friends for years. There were many things we had in common – and I wanted to write to her, but figured that she has touched so many people though this book - they probably have all written to her already.

So, I’ll write about the experience in my blog and suggest to anyone who reads this posting to pick up Kelly’s book “The Middle Place.” You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you won’t want to put the book down until you are done.

Thanks Kelly for coming to Utica – and for sharing your story!


Here are a few YouTube videos featuring Kelly Corrigan:

The Middle Place - Chapter 13 – About Going Bald

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfpTchv15Xs

This one “gets” me because losing my hair was one of my main concerns too. If I didn’t lose my hair, I probably would not have been so “out there” with my diagnosis. With surgery and radiation you can hide your sickness. When you have chemo, you can’t. You lose your hair, you become bloated from the steroids, you don’t sleep well, you hurt everywhere and best of all… you are sicker than a dog. You don’t realize what even the hair in your ears does until it’s not there anymore (especially when you are washing your head and he water drips down into your ears.) My hair is back – but I won’t forget how I felt when it was all gone.

Kelly’s mom moving her book around in Borders

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOo_ynxzD2g

This makes me laugh – if I had a book published I know my mom (and dad) would be doing the same thing.

Kelly reading her essay “Transcending.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_4qwVLqt9Q

Just a nice video I thought you might like to watch.

A busy October for the Pink Purse Project and Team Violette

The month of October was a busy month for breast cancer awareness. The annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in Utica was on Sunday, October 18. The weeks leading up to that date were busy for me and my friends and family because we were all selling raffle tickets for 2 Coach purses that I was raffling off to raise money for our team.

Thank you to Ann Rushlo, April Cacciatori, Linda Kinsella, Kathy Oliver and family/sisters/niece, Rose Owens, Kelly Kinsella, Stacey Kinsella, mom, Mary Ann Peck, Anne Miller, Maryrose Raab, Mary Beth Miller, Nancy Wallace, Melissa Newman, Sharon Hemmes, Pamela Finch, Patti Service, and whomever else I’ve forgotten to mention that helped sell tickets.

I plan on doing the same thing next year and will start to look for two more fabulous Coach purses to raffle off for next year’s fund-raiser. Come back to the www.pinkpurseproject.com

Thanks everyone for supporting the Pink Purse Project, SUNYIT Team Violette and Making Strides Against Breast Cancer!

BTW. The two winners were Donna in Dr. Simon’s office (Coach pink suede) and Linda at Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES (Coach patchwork)! Congratulations!

Jackson Browne and the Pink Purse Project

In September 2008, I went to visit my friend Nancy and to go to a Jackson Browne concert in Boston. The concert was great even though we arrived 15 minutes late because we couldn’t find the theater. (Just a bit of advice to the waiters at the Italian restaurant near the Orpheum Theatre… “Cross Boston Common, take a left on Tremont, and then a right near the church.”) But noooooooo… all kinds of directions later, we ended up walking up and down and all around the theater. This theater was so close to where we were, we could have jogged there (and we are not joggers). Anyway, the concert was fabulous and we soon forgot the dreaded miles we walked trying to find the theater.

The next day, Nancy and I decided to shop (what else would we do?) After many other stops, she took me to this cool place called “Building 19”. This store has all kinds of designer things for sale, but it looks more like a warehouse.

This is where I found the inspiration for the Pink Purse Project. I spotted this wonderful pink purse sitting on a hand-made 2 x 6 wooden plank shelf. It didn’t have a price tag, so I tossed it into my cart and “drove it around” (for those who are non-shopaholics, this is something shoppers do while they are thinking about their purchases). I drove the purse around for a good half hour and then decided that I didn’t need it and put it back on the shelf. When I finally found Nancy, I told her about the purse… she wanted to see it... just to help me decide if I should buy it or not. When we got back to the purse section, the purse was GONE! My heart stopped. I couldn’t believe I put the purse back and within minutes I no longer could own such a wonderful piece of leather.

We kept searching for the purse and finally, we turned the crowded corner with the shopping cart and what did we find? The PINK PURSE! It was sitting on a pile now – obviously someone else had been man-handling MY purse…. We decided to drive the purse around some more until we took it up to the cashier to find out how much it was.

When the cashier saw the pink purse she almost screamed at me “WHERE DID YOU GET THIS?” I thought, oh no, what did I do? I sheepishly answered, “ummmmm, back there in the purse section?” She responded with an “OH! Well, I was just wondering, because I was sending all of the out-of-season purses back to the manufacturers and I don’t know HOW I could have missed this one.” I didn’t want to tell her that I had been “driving” it around and that’s how she probably “missed” it.

So she told me the price – and Nancy and I looked at each other and decided I MUST have it – and I bought it. I made an instant decision that I would carry the out-of-season purse during October – for breast cancer awareness month.

It was during my four-hour trip home, that I came up with the pink purse project idea and the rest is history. The first year it was only me carrying a pink purse – and if anyone commented on what a cool purse I had, I would say, “Thank you, I am carrying it for breast cancer awareness month.”

This past October, I carried my purse again, and a few friends bought pink purses to carry one too. I made a website: www.pinkpurseproject.com where I could share information, sell items, and raise money for my Making Strides Against Breast Cancer team. Next year, more will be added to the site – and I will attempt to maintain this blog all year long.

So… now you’re wondering, “What does Jackson Browne have to do with the Pink Purse Project?” Well… I guess, not too much, but if I hadn’t gone out to visit Nancy and see his concert, I wouldn’t have been in Boston, and I wouldn’t have been shopping at Building 19, AND, I wouldn’t have found THE pink purse.

Thanks Nancy for being a great friend, thanks Jackson for a great concert, and thanks to the cashier who helped make my decision to buy the pink purse!

Team Violette gets its name

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2007. I had multiple surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation and had to continue chemotherapy of this medicine called Herceptin, for over a year after my diagnosis.

In August of the same year, one of the ladies at work asked if we could do the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in my honor. There was an annual kick-off breakfast that she wanted me to attend, and then the walk would be in October. Since I had already been raising money on my own for “Strides” and already knew that I would be participating in the walk (despite my lack of energy from my treatments). I said, that would be ok, but I didn’t want to make the team name, Team Lynne or “walking in honor of Lynne…” because I knew there were many women before me who had been diagnosed and many women after me would be diagnosed as well. Since my favorite color is purple, I thought “Team Violette” would be a nice name. So, in August 2006, SUNYIT Team Violette was born.

Since 2006, Team Violette has raised more than $19,000 and has also raised awareness around SUNYIT with a campus-wide walk, bake sales and raffles. The Pink Purse Project (PPP) started in 2009 and the money I raise through the PPP supports SUNYIT Team Violette. You can find out more about the Pink Purse Project at www.pinkpurseproject.com.

The painting, the ladybug, and breast cancer

Although I was diagnosed with breast cancer in February of 2006, I believe the chain of events that began the previous August, helped save my life.

I am an avid collector – and go down to the Bouckville (New York) antique show every August. My sister-in-law and I take a week off from work and scour the fields daily. Typically, (I don’t know why) I make a statement about what I want to find – I don’t know if it is to “put it out there” in the universe or what… but that year I stated “I want to buy a piece of art – cheap.”

And… almost the first booth I went to, I found a piece of art – it was an oil painting – and sitting on the ground propped up against a plastic box. I picked it up and looked at it and thought it would look good in my living room. It didn’t have a frame AND it had a small hole in it. It was a beach scene in Hawaii (I guessed this based on the information on the back of the canvas), and I thought it was from around the 1930’s. I brought it over to the owner and asked, “how much?’ After he grabbed it out of my hands, he said… “Oh, I’ve got to get $20 bucks for this!) Since I already was holding a small beaded bag that he said I could “have” for $35, I asked if he’d “do” $50 for both. He said yes and I handed him a $50 bill. We put the painting in 2 small plastic bags (one on each end) and I tucked it under my arm and went on my merry way.

A little while later, while I was walking around with the painting still tucked under my arm, I heard a weird buzzing sound and then SMACK, a bug hit me in the center of my forehead! (I even had a baseball hat and glasses on). I started to freak out because I thought it was a Japanese beetle, and flicked at it and it landed on my shorts… and when I when looked down and I saw that it was a ladybug. I scooted it off me and said, “Ladybug, bring me some good luck, help me find something good.”… I didn’t know I already had found it.

When the day was done, I opened the back door of my car, and tossed my $20 painting in the back seat and went home.

A few days later I started to wonder about who the artist was. I thought the painting looked like it was painted by someone “who know what he/she was doing.” I “Googled” the signature and couldn’t believe my eyes. I had bought a painting by a famous American artist!

My husband and I did more research about the artist and decided that we couldn’t keep something so valuable – and make sure it was properly cared for. So… I contacted a few auction houses – Christies and Sotheby’s in New York City and Brunk Auctions in North Carolina. All three agreed to sell my painting. I decided to go with Brunk Auctions, because they gave me personal attention and I knew up front what the costs would be. I sold the painting on January 7, 2006. We watched it on ebay live and it took only 28 seconds for it to be sold for a lot more than my $20 investment.

After the sale of the painting, I thought, “now that I have this money, I want to make sure I’m around to enjoy it” and called my doctor’s for a regular checkup and a mammogram.

My mammogram was scheduled for February 8, 2006. After my mammogram, I sat in the waiting area for a while. I don’t remember how many women came and went while I was still sitting there. Finally the technician came in and told me the doctor wanted a ultrasound because he saw a cyst. The ultrasound showed a mass right next to the cyst. A few weeks later, I had a biopsy and it was confirmed – I had breast cancer. This was very difficult news to hear and realize that even though I felt fine, there was this evil “thing” lurking in my body. I had a couple of surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation treatment. One and a half years later, I was finally “done.”

Using the word “done” isn’t a word that I use lightly. I don’t know if you are ever “done” with this type of thing. I try to keep a positive attitude and think “I am done” but you know it can come back and “smack you in the face” again. I am choosing to believe that I did “all the work” (surgery, chemo, radiation) so that I am “done” and that I won’t be sharing my body with cancer again. I am thankful that I made it through and am here to raise money to try and help find a cure. Many people ask me if I am going to continue to do what I do – and I tell them, “Yes, I have to, it is now my quest to help in some way.”

That’s my diagnosis story. I truly believe that if I hadn’t sold the painting in January, I might not have scheduled my mammogram until later in the year and my diagnosis might have been worse. I was lucky – and I think the ladybug did help me “find something good.”

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. I will post about things that are happening with me and the Pink Purse Project. I'll share stories on how I found out about my breast cancer, how the Pink Purse Project was started, and any other news I think you might like to know about.