Same Pink, New Home

Going Beyond the Pink (GBTP) has helped thousands of breast cancer patients and survivors, locally and internationally, through one-on-one coaching, in-person and online education, and financial aid. The organization now has a new home, and its new and upcoming programs will help even more women and men diagnosed with breast cancer successfully navigate a difficult journey.

“We collaborate with people energetically who are excited to work for the cause and help people in authentic ways, and look what we can do,” says KARA KENAN, a breast cancer survivor and the organization’s founder and executive director. “Lives are changing, and that’s incredible.”

Unfortunately, the need for GBTP’s services continues to grow, especially in the state and county. North Carolina has the eighth-highest rate of breast cancer in the country. In New Hanover County, breast cancer is diagnosed more often than any other cancer, and the number of breast cancer cases is more than double that of the next leading cancers in the region, Kenan says.

“It’s striking that in the coastal market breast cancer is by far the most diagnosed cancer,” she says. “It highlights the need for services.”

As always, Kenan is up to the challenge. She recently moved GBTP to Independence Mall, where the organization has more visibility and is easier to access, and she is gearing up for GBTP’s first REACH Survivors’ Symposium, to be held on March 16. The symposium will feature interactive workshops and sessions on how breast cancer survivors and caregivers can move forward with their lives.

Another new GBTP program, Nutrition Rx, is ready to go as soon as Kenan can get funding. Developed with the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Public Health Department, Nutrition Rx will provide fresh produce to 100 breast cancer patients and survivors for a year and study the impact nutritious food has on this population.

In recent years, Kenan has also expanded GBTP’s education programming, so those facing breast cancer can more easily get the information they need. Included in these initiatives are GBTP’s Education Hub, a one-stop resource for those seeking reliable, accurate information about breast cancer; Breast Cancer Health: What Is Normal, What Is Not?, a program that uses models to demonstrate how to perform a breast self-check and has special versions for men and young adults; and GBTP’s Peer Education Program, which uses representatives from African American and Latino faith and community groups to teach their associates about breast cancer and serve as contacts with GBTP.

Through these and other programs, GBTP has helped a multitude of individuals deal with breast cancer. In the past year, the organization directly supported 935 breast cancer patients and survivors, and 450 patients received GBTP care bags filled with the resources they’ll need to endure breast cancer treatments. Since it opened in 2017, GBTP has provided $100,000 in financial aid for patients’ out-of-pocket medical expenses and served nearly 145,000 patients and survivors online.

GBTP’s impact on breast cancer patients and survivors has reached far beyond Kenan’s initial imaginings, but it’s the small victories that keep her going.

“For me, success is in the little moments–when someone is overwhelmed and can’t see their path through,” she says. “When talking with them, I see the weight on their shoulders lift and get a few more smiles than tears. That’s what gets me up every morning. That’s a gift. It helps me heal.”

To view more of photographer Terah Hoobler’s work, go to terahhoobler.com.

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