Blog

Volunteer Spotlight: Karen and Maddie Loebbaka

 Karen and Maddie dipsea

Mother/daughter team Karen and Maddie Loebbaka have been volunteering for Zero Breast Cancer’s Annual Dipsea Hike for 5 years—starting when Maddie was 11! Karen heard about the hike 6 years ago from a friend who is a breast cancer survivor and participated as a hiker the first year she was involved. Then, she and Maddie got interested in volunteering through the National Charity League, a nonprofit that promotes the benefits of mothers and daughters doing volunteer service together. If you’ve recently participated in the hike, you likely met them at the registration table, which they are well-experienced at running.

Read more: Volunteer Spotlight: Karen and Maddie Loebbaka

Reflections on the Dipsea Hike from an Oregonian

ZBC Dipsea Display Table 

For the past year I have been working as the Communications Coordinator for Zero Breast Cancer from Southern Oregon. From the start, the mission statement of focusing on breast cancer prevention stood out to me as a unique perspective, as so many breast cancer organizations overlook these root causes. While I have forged strong relationships with my colleagues and an understanding of the organization from a distance, by recently attending the 16th Annual Dipsea Hike I gained a deeper sense of the wonderful work that ZBC does and the people they serve.

Read more: Reflections on the Dipsea Hike from an Oregonian

ZBC Receives Generous Bequest

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Sixteen years ago, Zero Breast Cancer’s Dipsea Hike was founded in memory of Andrea “Annie” Fox. Annie worked for the county, was an active athlete—a member of the Tamalpa Runners—and she loved Mt. Tamalpais. She was a founding board member of Marin Breast Cancer Watch, which is now Zero Breast Cancer. Annie was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 31 and died of her disease at age 35 in 2002 just before the first hike. Amongst others, Annie was survived by her mother Marjorie Bonner and her significant other at the time, Chris Stewart—a tireless organizer and volunteer who makes our annual hike possible.

Marjorie was a donor to Marin Breast Cancer Watch since 2001, she founded the Andrea Fox Fund managed by the Marin County Board of Supervisors and continued to support Zero Breast Cancer for over 15 years.

Read more: ZBC Receives Generous Bequest

Breast Cancer Survivors Need More Support After Active Treatment Ends! ZBC Learns More

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The period after active treatment is a time of heightened anxiety for many breast cancer survivors as they graduate from medical routines and also become concerned about recurrence. Zero Breast Cancer has spent the last couple of years laying the groundwork for an integrated, evidence-based educational campaign focused on breast cancer recurrence prevention for survivors. In order to ensure our campaign meets the needs of post-treatment survivors—especially underserved survivors, including racial/ethnic minorities, gender/sexual minorities and people who have lower incomes—we have been working with patients, survivors, caregivers and the professionals that serve them to collect information and better understand diverse points-of-view. We would like to take a moment to update you on our current work in the area. 

Read more: Breast Cancer Survivors Need More Support After Active Treatment Ends! ZBC Learns More

Get to Know the ZBC Board: Lexi Mele-Algus

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Next up in the Get to Know the ZBC Board series is Lexi Mele-Algus. Lexi got to know Zero Breast Cancer as a pro-bono business consultant through the Taproot Foundation. Once that assignment was completed, Lexi jumped at the opportunity to join our board. In her year and a half as a board member, she has continued to draw upon her expertise in the field of healthcare systems to support and advance the strategic mission of ZBC.

Read more: Get to Know the ZBC Board: Lexi Mele-Algus

Health Benefits of Tai Chi and Qigong

 Tai Chi in Park Dreamstime for web2

Physical activity is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your health. It reduces the risk of many diseases, including breast cancer. It can also lead to better outcomes for people who have breast cancer and reduce the risk of reoccurrence for those who have recovered from the disease.

Did you know that you don’t have to drip sweat to see the benefits of exercise? For example, tai chi is a gentle exercise that shows similar benefits to more vigorous activities. It may improve the immune system, cardio-vascular fitness, strength, flexibility, balance, stress level and sleep.

Read more: Health Benefits of Tai Chi and Qigong

Get to Know the ZBC Board: Judy Wetterer

Judy Wetterer blog for web2

In this month’s Get to Know the ZBC Board interview, Judy Wetterer shares her wisdom as a survivor and advocate for breast cancer risk reduction. She has been involved in ZBC from the very beginning of the organization when it was Marin Breast Cancer Watch, later served as a member of the ZBC Teen Initiative Task Force and is now in her third year as a member of the board.

Read more: Get to Know the ZBC Board: Judy Wetterer

Website Recommendation: BCERP.org

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The Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program (BCERP) website aims to make the latest scientific findings on the relationship between environmental exposures and breast cancer both accessible and actionable. Consisting of a transdisciplinary consortium of scientists, the BCERP is funded by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Environmental Sciences (NIEHS) and National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). With community partners, the BCERP researchers look at how environmental exposures during key life stages may increase risk of breast cancer. (Full disclosure: ZBC was a community partner in the past.)

Read more: Website Recommendation: BCERP.org