March 24, 1999
Yoga to benefit Navigators program
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Yoga teacher Sara Boys knows what it means to face a breast cancer diagnosis - the panic, the overwhelm, the grief and anger. The many decisions that have to be made so quickly.
"You are just totally overwhelmed by a breast cancer diagnosis," said Boys, an Iyengar Yoga teacher for 17 years. "First you have an abnormal mammogram and that makes you nervous. Then when you get that call that it was malignant and you have to have a biopsy it really throws you into an emotional and psychological havoc."
Boys wants to make sure that in the future other women going through this experience have emotional help and support from women who are breast cancer survivors.
To this end, Boys this week is donating all her proceeds this week from the eight yoga classes she teaches to Munson Medical Center's Navigators program. The Navigators program matches a trained volunteer who has survived breast cancer with women who just received a diagnosis.
Boys' effort is part of the nationwide Positive Yoga '99 program, which encourages a Yoga teachers and students to raise money for breast cancer research and education. The money can be used either locally or sent to a national program.
"I would like to make the experience of a diagnosis different for others," Boys said. "They may be told it is a medical emergency but it is not. Sometimes taking a few days or a few weeks to educate yourself can make a difference in the prognosis."
Boys read about Positive Yoga '99 in a yoga magazine last month and immediately wanted to participate. She sent a letter to all her students explaining the Navigators program and encouraging support for it. The Navigators program plans to use the money raised by Boys and her students for speakers about breast cancer treatment and education in their ongoing volunteer training program.
"Breast cancer is a very personal thing and every woman has to make the best choices she has," said Blanche Heidt, coordinator of the Navigators program. "Our volunteers can provide a sounding board and support system, but they are not there to give advice."
Boys has a deep commitment to the Navigators program, being one of the four women who prompted its formation and also a trained volunteer with the program. Navigators began when a group of women began meeting to discuss complementary approaches to breast cancer treatment. This informal support group dubbed themselves the Bosom Buddies and continues to meet monthly.
Last year some members of the Bosom Buddies wrote a letter to the president of Munson Medical Center requesting access to information and support about breast cancer. A meeting of physicians and surgeons was convened and the women presented their concerns to them. Two of the Bosom Buddies continued to meet with members of the American Cancer Society, the Women's Health Network at Munson Medical Center and representatives from radiation, oncology and the nursing departments.
From these meetings the Navigators program was born, based on a similar program in Oregon. It is a collaborative program funded by the Zonta Club, the American Cancer Society and Munson Medical Center. The Navigators program trained its first group of 20 volunteers on February 20 and one match has been made so far.
"Last year more than 200 cases of breast cancer were diagnosed at Munson, that's four a week," said Heidt. "Our hope would be to catch all of them and support them."
For more information on Positive Yoga '99 or to make a donation, call Boys at 938-3243. For more information on the Navigators program, call Blanche Heidt at the Women's Health Network at 935-6678.