SABCS: Meeting The Good Health Fairy

Good Health Fairy Photo © Pam Stephan

There she was, floating in a pink cloud of chiffon and feathers, wearing her official tiara and sneakers. Wait - do fairies wear sneakers? Well, René Bowditch, also known as the Good Health Fairy of Beyond Boobs, gets around a lot, so sneakers are de rigueur. Where do you find the Good Health Fairy? Well, I met her at the 32nd Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS). Wand in hand and a magical smile on her radiant face, she attracted smiles from everyone around.

René Bowditch is a seven-year breast cancer survivor, patient advocate, instructor at the William and Mary Law School, and co-founder of Beyond Boobs. She was in the role of Good Health Fairy when she met Mary Beth Gibson at a retreat for breast cancer survivors. Together, they started a support group for premenopausal women - gals who had been told they were "too young to have breast cancer" and some of whom had delayed diagnoses.

While breast cancer is a serious subject, Beyond Boobs uses humor and counter-cultural attitudes to heal and create support for each other. Young women are dealing with issues of possible fertility loss, babysitting needs, body image, and family expectations, as well as the loss of their breasts. Your average 30-something isn't dealing with all these things, so getting your peers to understand you is almost impossible. That's where Beyond Boobs comes in. They offer support groups tailored just for young women.

René Bowditch and Mary Beth Gibson have two main goals for this non-profit. First, to educate women and save lives by teaching them how to be responsible for their own breast health. Second, to support and encourage young women who have breast cancer. They would like to reach beyond Virginia, where they are based, to anywhere in the country or the world where women may need to learn about early detection or to offer support where it is needed. That's the reason for the high top sneakers - René told me that they are available to speak to groups just about anywhere, and they are willing to travel! The Good Health Fairy will don her wings, take up her wand, and slip on her sneakers for The Cause!