Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women.
Nearly everyone knows someone who has been diagnosed.
The question is, how you can help someone like Elaine who is facing a breast cancer diagnosis?
“…My diagnosis of breast cancer came as a total shock following a routine mammogram,” Elaine recalls. “The emotional roller coaster that I have ridden since hearing the word ‘cancer’ has definitely changed my life.”
Sixteen years ago, a group of women including mothers, daughters, sisters, and friends gathered together with one shared vision: to help women diagnosed with breast cancer. The Cris Collinsworth ProScan Fund (CCPF) was founded and the Pink Ribbon Bag Program took off. To date, CCPF has sent over 5,000 Pink Ribbon Bags across the globe to women newly diagnosed with breast cancer.
The items included in the Pink Ribbon Bags were thoughtfully suggested by survivors. Each bag includes four books: There’s No Place Like Hope; Love, Medicine, and Miracles; Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy; and Bald is Better with Earrings, chosen to help women through their healing journey. In addition, it contains several useful items intended to bring comfort and hope to the recipient: a journal, warm socks, a blanket, lip balm, a Tervis tumbler, peppermints, and a satin pillowcase designed to help with hair loss. The bag also provides information on other breast cancer programs, the Look Good Feel Better program and CCPF’s Survivor Circle.
“The variety of contents in the [Pink Ribbon Bag] were meaningful and brought a sense of knowing that others were aware of my needs even before I was,” Elaine says.
Pink Ribbon Bags are sent to breast cancer patients who have been diagnosed within the last year. To request a bag, fill out this form under the Pink Ribbon Programs page. You can also call the Cris Collinsworth ProScan Fund at 1-866-557-Pink.
“From the beautiful pink throw to the bag itself, [it] was such a welcome surprise,” says Betty, another Pink Ribbon Bag recipient. “When you get a diagnosis of cancer, your world seems to turn upside down and you don’t know where to turn, but with the love and support from family, friends, and organizations such as yours, you manage to get through it and really learn to take one day at a time.”
