BBF is pleased to report that Laura Kelly, our VP of Global Partnerships and Development is making significant progress in her personal fight against invasive breast cancer. After finding a lump during a self-exam in the fall of 2021, she was diagnosed and began treatment soon thereafter. Kelly’s treatment is aggressive: chemotherapy spanning more than five months, a full mastectomy, and then 28 days of radiation. She began chemotherapy at the beginning of October and completed four, three-week rounds of A/C chemotherapy (doxorubicin, also known as adriamycin, and cyclophosphamide). After finishing that regimen, she began 12 weekly chemotherapy treatments on paclitaxel (taxol). Kelly will conclude chemotherapy and begin preparation for surgery on March 22. Despite extreme fatigue and severe side effects from chemo, Kelly maintains her usual sunny spirits and continues her work at BBF.

While Kelly is managing her own treatment schedule, she has simultaneously spearheaded a new breast cancer focused initiative for BBF. One of the first partnerships BBF will expand is with Food for the Poor and the Ribbons of Love program. Ribbons of Love provides medical treatment to Honduran women who have been diagnosed with cancer and cannot afford treatment. The program provides pre-surgery services including mammography, ultrasounds, scans, surgeries, (including biopsies), lumpectomies and mastectomies. Treatments include chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The program also sponsors information campaigns to highlight the importance of screening and testing for early detection.

Thanks to the generous initial response by donors last fall, BBF has already been able to present our first donation to Ribbons of Love in January. Following the gift, Kelly said, “This will be a huge step in helping women get the necessary breast cancer treatment and care they so desperately need. I couldn’t be happier to be able to help these women access this care. It makes me feel so good.”

BBF will continue to raise money and build our program to benefit women fighting breast cancer through our Breast Cancer Awareness Fund. If you would like your next gift to go toward this worthy cause, click “donate now” from our website and then select “Breast Cancer Awareness Fund” under the Gift Designation tab.

A larger campaign benefitting BBF’s Breast Cancer Awareness Fund is scheduled to begin this spring. Be on the lookout for more information soon.