Healthy Mama Magazine SPECIAL RED Edition - Feb 2015 | Page 64

Glimmer

Q
A

Pink Hope
of

Interview with Krystal Barter,
Founder of

I imagine there are a lot of people who may not agree with preventative
actions such as voluntary mastectomies. What do you say to people who may
not agree with what you’re doing?
I so strongly believe that it’s each to their own. My mum was so healthy, ate well, was not overweight and she was
36 when she got cancer. She lived on a farm for the majority of her life, living off the land. I guess I used that as my
template, that there are some things that you can control and some things that you can’t. Obviously you want to
control as much as you can in your life to lead a long and healthy life as you can.

if you don’t have
anything
or
to say,
don’t say it.

Not everyone is going to understand or agree with all of the choices that you make in
life. I’m a firm believer that, if you don’t have anything nice or positive to say, don’t say it. I
just so whole heartedly believe that, or say it privately to the person, don’t put it on social
media. I’m a firm believer in that because I think that this world can be a nasty place, but
I just so strongly believe in helping other families with
the knowledge that we’ve got, helping families better
understand their health history and better prevent their
own cancer. Taking a driver’s seat as opposed to the
passenger in managing their own health. We all know that we’ve got one body
and that’s it. In this moment right now, if you get sick, if you leave it too late there
. are not many things that can be done, if it’s caught early enough, there are.

positive

Taking a driver’s seat
as opposed to the
passenger in managing
their own health

nice

Wow, you and Pink Hope are doing a remarkable job.

Q
A

It’s a big job. We became a standalone charity about two and a half years ago. We are going to be doing some
amazing things and I know that everyone who gives to us or is a part of our community will be very, very proud.

Tell me a couple of the amazing things that are in store for you in 2015.
I believe that there is only so much support, information and education that you can provide, but when you start
hearing stories of families that are really struggling in day to day life, there is a moment where you go,..

heart

“right, let’s wear our
on our sleeve and
give back where we can”.
One program that we are incredibly passionate about is our ‘glimmer of hope’ program. For example, perhaps a
woman has just undergone major surgery, we’ll pay for her childcare fees for her two kids for four weeks so that
she can recover. It’s a huge expense for a family. A lot of people might not have holidays accrued or they can’t take
the time off work to recover or care for someone. We really want to expand that program. We’ve got a very exciting
healthcare partnership that we can’t announce yet, but it’s going to really change the way that Australians are supported and educated outside of the healthcare environment. 2015 is really exciting!

Q
A

We are very prevention driven and it doesn’t necessarily mean the preventative surgery side of things. We are
about empowering people with information to investigate their family health history and implement life saving
strategies that could not only save your life, but the ones whom you love as well.

What would you say is the most important life saving strategy you promote at
Pink Hope?
Definitely the first one I say is investigate your family health history. Everyone has a family history of something,
whether it’s mental health, heart disease, cancer. Knowing that gives you the opportunity to start earlier in life.
The second one would be, leading a much healt