CLEVELAND — Sherri White of Cleveland and Tara Douglas of Brook Park are sisters bonded not by blood, but by battle … a battle against breast cancer.
“Cancer is traumatic, and you can't understand it unless you've been there and so that's what makes My Sister's Keeper unique,” White explains.
White is the founder of My Sister’s Keeper-Cleveland, a not-for-profit organization supporting women impacted by cancer. The 43-year-old woman was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) a few days after Christmas in 2011.
TNBC is an aggressive form of breast cancer more common in women under 40, Black women and those who have a BRCA-1 gene mutation. White was 32 when she was diagnosed and even though she successfully completed treatment, she says she has a 46% chance of the cancer returning.
“You can't do this alone. I found that out the hard way. I tried to do it alone, and because of that I created a lot of residual medical issues afterwards: Stress, anxiety, depression. You need people.”
"MY SISTER'S KEEPER GAVE ME SO MUCH STRENGTH"
Desiring to create a community for women battling cancer, White started My Sister’s Keeper in 2018, the same year Douglas was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer.
Douglas had previously experienced the death of her teenage son due to myocarditis, a rare condition where inflammation develops in the middle layer of the heart. She also endured the pain of additional family members passing away.
“I lost my son, I lost my mother, I lost my father, I lost my sister, I lost my brother,” Douglas shares. “And to find out that I had breast cancer and to go through breast cancer with all this, and to see people pass on, I’m like, ‘I got to make a difference. I got to keep fighting.’”
Douglas says White and the organization gave her a voice she didn’t know she had.
“My Sister’s Keeper gave me so much strength and so much motivation,” Douglas says. “I know exactly what I can do to support somebody else because I know what I was looking for at that time.”
My Sister's Keeper-Cleveland's Services and Programs
Just last May, My Sister’s Keeper held the “Pretty in Pink Cancer Awareness Fashion Show” where local designers volunteered their time and talents to create pieces for women, men and children impacted by cancer. Many of the models were in active treatment during the time of the show, including Douglas.
“That fashion show made me feel inside truly like I can get through a lot,” says Douglas.
My Sister’s Keeper also provides monthly educational forums, prayer circles, scholarships and an annual breast cancer awareness walk in underserved communities.
This year’s “A Walk In Her Shoes" breast cancer awareness event is taking place Saturday, Oct. 8 with a 2.2-mile stroll stepping off from the MetroHealth Buckeye Health Center in Cleveland.
“We try to get everyone who's participating feeling as if they know what someone went through when they had cancer,” says White, who now works in administration at MetroHealth Cancer Care Center. “You feel like you're walking in that person's shoes.”
My Sister’s Keeper just released their 2023 Cancer Awareness Calendar. Twelve cancer warriors, who participated in the “Pretty in Pink Fashion Show,” are featured as monthly cover models. Douglas is representing the month of November.
“I saw the impact of what being in the show did for those in treatment and even those who completed treatment years ago,” White writes in a recent message describing the calendar. “I wanted to make that feeling last a little longer. The intent is to show their strength without going deeply into their stories. A picture is truly worth a thousand words in this regard.”
All proceeds from the calendar are intended to support the mission of My Sister’s Keeper.
Click here to purchase the calendar.