/ 202 SPOTLIGHT /
East Valley
Breast Cancer
Resources
With 1 in 8 women
(and a small minority of
men) diagnosed with
breast cancer, it will
affect everyone.
FIND SUPPORT:
Share experiences
and empathy. Check
out groups like Bosom
Buddies, with local
groups meeting in
the East Valley. Visit
bosombuddies-az.org.
Bodour Salhia, her daughter and mother at last year’s
Komen Phoenix Race for the Cure.
That’s because the fight against cancer
is all about joining forces in the face of
something you don’t understand. That’s
where Salhia’s “other side” comes in – she
loves getting out in the community to
learn more “about the people, not just the
molecules,” and at the same time, she’s
become a resource for people struggling to
understand cancer.
Salhia says she has always volunteered,
but connecting with others has become
especially important since she began her
breast cancer research.
“It can get abstract, even for me. I
want to be reminded constantly why I’m
doing this.”
While she’s getting to know those
dealing with cancer, Salhia offers survivors
and their loved ones information. She’s
given several talks and seminars around
the East Valley and Phoenix area, and
has even been available through personal
references and phone calls to offer
what she calls “Cancer 101” to people
overwhelmed by the disease.
“I’m not a medical doctor and I don’t
ever give medical advice, but sometimes
people just really want to understand,” she
says. “I’m always impressed by how much
people do know about their cancer. They
can’t really see it unless they’re in a lab, so
sometimes they don’t understand it – and
why would they?”
Salhia hears even more about cancer
patients’ experiences through her
volunteer work with charities like the
Susan G. Komen Central and Northern
Arizona affiliate, which recently
appointed her to the board of directors
and for which she’s served as a community
outreach ambassador for several years.
Komen CAN, which operates as an
independent affiliate, spends 75 percent of
its income to support efforts locally.
The partnership started as Salhia
was the recipient of those funds Komen
raises – she received a grant to research
breast cancer. She stayed with them as
she got further involved in community
outreach and efforts like informational
presentations and the Race for the Cure.
“I love talking with people. Sometimes
it just takes one person to kick start
the conversation, but people want to
understand,” she says. “When people
connect to people and that connection
stays alive and grows, it just means that
people care about each other.”
DETECT IT EARLY:
Starting at 50 (some
doctors say 40) yearly
mammograms are
advised, and can aid
early detection and
treatment. Visit Arizona
Breast Cancer Resource
Guide at azbreastcancer.
org for local screenings
or financial assistance.
TRY THIS AT HOME:
As the local “Don’t be
a Chump, Check for
a Lump” campaign
urges, self exams are a
good way – in addition
to regular medical
checkups – to monitor
your health. Learn more
at checkforalump.com.
202 magazine \ october 2013 \ ? ?XY?^?[?K???B?????