W hile you’re making your New Year’s
resolutions to eat better and exercise
more – all the things you do for yourself
– why not resolve to do something to
help others, too? Small nonprofit organizations
wouldn’t exist without the work
of volunteers, and volunteering can
make your New Year richer and more
rewarding, so it’s a win-win.
One local organization that depends
exclusively on the support of volunteers
is Pink Door, which offers single,
divorced and widowed women survivors
of any type of cancer the ability to start a
new career path after cancer and take
the first steps toward building a whole
new life. With their six-month, five-step
process, Pink Door helps women get a
new look, a new outlook and new jobfinding
skills.
Michelle Stephenson is a cancer survivor
who believes strongly in the need
for support not only during but after the
treatment process. “You go through
treatment and do what you have to do
to get through it, to survive, but when
you’re done you can be an emotional
wreck,” Stephenson says. “You’re in survival
mode, and then you take a deep
breath afterwards and it hits you. But a
lot of organizations don’t focus on after
cancer.”
That focus was also part of the appeal
for cancer survivor Frances Arzu, who
likes that Pink Door’s focus is on the
survivor reclaiming her life and being
able to move forward after cancer. “Pink
Door was the only group that I know of
in Houston that is totally focused on
helping the woman to help herself,”
Arzu says. “And that really appealed to
me. It is a program. It isn’t like a fourhour
seminar; it’s weeks and weeks of
helping the woman to actually evolve
and grow. That’s cool.
“Another thing that I found neat
about it was that they want to help the
women who need to build their confidence
and will give them the tools to
look for a job,” Arzu says. The need for
career help is particularly prevalent
because many of those diagnosed with
cancer either leave their jobs voluntarily
to focus on their treatment or are forced
to leave their positions because they
don’t have enough sick time to accommodate
their treatments and its side
effects.
“That can devastate your career,” Arzu
says. “Or maybe you realize while you’re
going through this journey that what
you’re doing today isn’t what you want
to continue to do. How do you go about
finding that job that will bring you the
fulfillment that you really are entitled to
have?” For cancer survivor Melissa Ward,
Pink Door’s focus on helping single,
divorced and widowed women, and the
fact that the organization is run by and
services younger women, were part of
what drew her as a volunteer. “I’m very
passionate about increasing awareness of
cancer in young women,” Ward says.
“People think, ‘You don’t get cancer until
you’re 60,’ but I was diagnosed at 31,
and I’m not alone.”
The educational aspect was also something
that impressed her. “It’s a different
type of organization,” she says. “It’s one
of the few that are there to support
women so that they can go on and support
themselves by getting some education
and, hopefully, a degree.”
Crystal Brown-Tatum, also a cancer
survivor, feels she gets a lot personally
out of networking with other survivors
when she volunteers. “Whenever you
meet a survivor it’s always an instant
camaraderie,” she says. “The friendships
that I’m forging mean a lot to me.”
Volunteering also lets her give back
some of the support she got from
women who had been there before her
when she was going through treatment.
“I feel obligated as a survivor to reach
back and pull another woman forward
on her journey.”
Tatum-Brown stresses that cancer is a
journey that doesn’t end when treatment
does. “When you finish cancer treatment,
you’re like, ‘Now what?’” she says. “How
do you pick up the pieces? You don’t just
stop your last treatment and wake up the
next morning ready to go back to your
old life. I like that Pink Door is more
than just a support group. It’s about
making a woman feel whole again.”
Ward says, “I would encourage people
to get involved if they possibly can, to
donate their time, because it’s a worthwhile
foundation and most of what they
do is done by volunteers. Without us,
they would not be able to function.”
For information about volunteering
with Pink Door, visit their web site at
www.pinkdoornonprofit.org.
-- KELLI D. MEYER
page 22 . total body . january/february 2010
Total Body Magazine January 2010 Issue
. Once he realized what I was asking for, he quickly told me there was only so much he could do. Well, he gave me my itty bitties, even if I have to keep explaining to everyone that they are itty bitties to me, if to no else and that I LOVE THEM!!!!
Recent studies have clearly demonstrated that exercise, may provide positive benefits for the breast cancer survivor. As a result of my diagnosis, I have tried to eat healthier and exercise regularly. Besides doing a fitness boot camp, I am an avid dragon boat paddler. Initially, I had never heard of dragon boating, but was totally intrigued, when I was first introduced to the sport. Dragon boating presented the opportunity to get a full body workout without stressing any one part of the body. But, most importantly, you are on a team of all survivors. In 2005, I paddled in my first race and was hooked. I am inspired by the incredible Canadians Abreast team, an all survivor team. Our team won for the first time in 2006 and savored the moment. 
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