Young cancer survivor pens poignant book about breast cancer
Proceeds donated to Pink Ribbon Girls.
Amber Treadwell was only 31 years old when she was diagnosed with Ductal Carcinoma in Situ, a form of pre-invasive breast cancer, earlier this year.
Like many women who are diagnosed with breast cancer (or any cancer, for that matter) at such a young age, Treadwell immediately began searching for answers. What could have made her more susceptible to this cancer at such a young age? Why her? What now? It was in this quest for answers that she gained the support of other women going through the very same thing — and gained a helping hand from Pink Ribbon Girls.
“When I first had my surgery, on the first or second day I was home, my sister-in-law walked on my porch and put some flowers on my porch,” Treadwell said. “I wasn’t expecting anything. But after that, every single day for maybe a month, I received gifts every day from just my friends and family, like flowers, candy, food, cookies and just all kinds of stuff. Along the lines, I got connected with Pink Ribbon Girls and was set up with free meals. I think I got them twice a month. At a time
I was going through something so scary, there was an organization to help me during my time of need. I thought my husband was like my only support system and then all of these people poured in unexpectedly.”
It was this display of kindness that inspired Treadwell to donate all of the proceeds from her book, “My Story Isn’t Over: Sixteen Remarkable Stories of Breast Cancer Survival,” to the Pink Ribbon
Girls, an organization founded in Tipp City by Heather Salazar, with an expanded reach across Ohio and parts of Kentucky and Missouri, offering services like free meals and transportation to those suffering through breast cancer treatments. Treadwell is not affiliated with the organization.
“What better way to give back to an organization that helps me, but also that is helping other woman fighting cancer,” Treadwell said. “I didn’t know until recently that they’re actually struggling with fundraising, and things like that, because of COVID. They’re not able to get out and do their normal fundraising projects. It just really kind of confirmed my need to give back.”
The book, first dreamt up at the beginning of Treadwell’s cancer journey in April, features her own personal breast cancer story, along with the stories of 15 other women who submitted their stories to Treadwell, mostly through
the Young Survival Coalition group on Facebook. The group was formed as a way for those diagnosed with breast cancer under the age of 45 to come together and share their stories. She was inspired to put together a collection of breast cancer survival stories after struggling to come to terms with her own diagnosis.
“My vision was that I wanted to do a Chicken Soup for the Soul-style book,” Treadwell said. “And that we would put it together and donate all of the proceeds to the Pink Ribbon Girls.”
Each tale of bravery in the book features one surprising element: Each breast cancer survivor was diagnosed at a young age. Or, at least, at an age when many women aren’t typically thinking about breast cancer or doing simple breast exams to check for lumps or abnormalities. It’s this lack of awareness that Treadwell hopes to change.
“I never remember someone teaching me about how to identify a lump or to know if you’re having changes in your breasts or things like that,” Treadwell said. “I don’t think I was ever taught that at all. I think that this is something that needs to be taught because I feel like younger women are facing it more and more every day.”
Aside from these fundraising efforts, Treadwell is a nurse at an assisted living facility, working hard to ensure that her older patients have some sense of security in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Though Treadwell does feel nervous about her exposure to the virus, she admits that she is at her best when helping others. It’s this giving spirit that has ultimately inspired her to give back to the organization that has helped so many others go through hardships presented by a breast cancer diagnosis.
So far, Treadwell has raised around $400 in the few weeks since her book has been published. In the end, her fundraising goal is fairly humble. Treadwell hopes to at least hit the $1,000 mark in the coming weeks and months.
“Heather, the CEO [of Pink Ribbon Girls] wrote something that touched me,” said Treadwell. “She said, ‘Cancer doesn’t stop and neither do we.’ So, it’s kind of like she’s gonna do whatever it takes to continue to help these women because they’re not only doing meals and cleaning services, they’re taking people to treatments. They’re doing meals for families. A lot of women depend on them.”