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FREE WIG! FREE BREAST PROSTHESIS!>
Shed music event to help raise money for Pink Heart Funds
The Mississippi Press --
May 4, 2007 --
Friday, May 04, 2007
By VETO F. ROLEY The Mississippi Press
OCEAN SPRINGS -- Local bands, artists and cancer survivors will come together Sunday at the Shed Barbecue for music, art and barbecue to raise awareness about cancer.
"We like hosting things like this," said Brooke Lewis, spokesman for the Shed, which is located on Mississippi 57 just north of the Interstate 10 exit.
The event will feature four bands headlined by Rochelle Harper and the Rochelle Harper Band. Lewis said the band has a unique sound with a touch of jazz.
Seven artists will be displaying original paintings and seven cancer survivors will speak on how they survived the disease, she said.
In addition a number of organizations will have booths set up to provide information.
Lewis said the event will start at noon and go until about 8 p.m. Additional parking will be available at the Vancleave Coca Cola bottling plant, which is located just over a mile north of the Shed on Mississippi 57.
The United States Coast Guard will provide two buses and drivers to shuttle festival goers to and from the event, Lewis said.
The event is free.
Lewis said the event will raise money and awareness for the Pink Heart Funds. Money will be raised through art sales and a silent auction.
The Pink Hearts Fund was founded by breast cancer survivor JoAn Nicely. The organization gives wigs and breast prothesises to women battling cancer.
Nicely said the two items help restore women's pride in themselves as they battle cancer.
A lot of women going through breast cancer can't afford a breast prothesis, which can cost up to $350. Nicely said women turned to stuffing their bras with socks, which itch and can't be balanced, or old or an ill-fitting prothesis.
Nicely said one woman came to her shop looking for wig. She said she gave the woman a breast prothesis as well to replace an eight-year-old model.
"Breast prosthesis are designed for two years," she said, explaining that they started to lose their shape after use. "She had duct taped the prothesis together and it had fungus growing in it."
Despite the trauma of losing a breast to cancer, Nicely said a woman losing her hair affected her more.
"Losing a breast to cancer is disastrous," Nicely said. "But, losing hair is extremely disastrous."
For one thing, Nicely said women can hide the loss of a breast. They use clothing, put things in their bras and do other things so the loss of a breast is not easily noticed.
But when a woman loses her hair, "everybody knows she is sick," Nicely said. "When you see a woman who is bald, you know she has cancer."
That knowledge, Nicely said, leads to negative encounters.
"When I had cancer, everyone thought I was dying," she said.
Nicely said she formed Pink Heart Funds several years ago to help pay for her giving wigs and breast prothesises away. The primary funding source of the project is a cookbook she sells: "Appetite for Living."
"All proceeds go to the Pink Heart Funds," Nicely said, who said the book includes recipes for dinner and positive stories about cancer survivors. The cookbook can be ordered online at www.pinkheartfunds.com.
Another local effort that will be featured Sunday is Michelle Hirata's t-shirt hats.
Hirata's mother died after battling breast cancer for 17 years. She agreed that one of the most difficult aspects of cancer, particularly for women, is losing their hair.
As her mother was battling cancer, Hirata said she started looking for the best material to make a hat. She decided on T-shirt linen, as that is, for her, the most comfortable material to wear.
To make her hats, Hirata said she cuts the T-shirts into strips and dyes them with natural dyes. She then assembles the hats in vibrant colors and gives them to cancer patients.
"They are the most comfortable thing you can wear," she said.
To finance her giving the hats away, Hirata also sells hats and purses.
"I tell people that when they purchase a hat, they are buying two: one for them and one for me to give away," she said, adding that her purses go for $40 to $80 and hats for $40.
Reporter Veto F. Roley can be reached at vroley@themississippipress.com or (228) 934-1427.
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