Breast cancer survivor creates advocacy program that “pays it forward”
No one expects to develop breast cancer, and when they do, the blitz of information and decisions a new patient has to make can be overwhelming. At times like that, many people want to turn to someone who has gone through the experience for a little help – some caring guidance.
That’s how Laura Bergmann felt in 2007, when she was diagnosed with cancer in both breasts. But she didn’t have a sister who had the disease that she could share her questions and anxieties with, and none of her friends ever had a breast cancer diagnosis either. She could ask the clinicians and staff at Mayo Clinic’s Multidisciplinary Breast Cancer her questions, but that wasn’t the same as having a so-called “bosom buddy” that she could call or see anytime she wanted during the process of having a double mastectomy.
So, when she recovered, Laura created a patient advocacy program with the support of Mayo Clinic’s Breast Center to give newly diagnosed patients emotional, physical, and informational support.
The program, Pink Sisters and Friends, which has been functional for less than a year, now has 26 volunteers, all of whom have been trained by Mayo Clinic staff in everything from patient relations to the different types of breast cancer as well as the myriad kinds of treatment.
The advocates, who are all breast cancer survivors, also attend conferences with specialists and psychiatrists to discuss problems and bring their individual questions to the experts.
“We don’t practice medicine or give women medical advice, but we give women all the support we can,” says Laura, who manages the program on a volunteer basis and works to match up new patients with advocates in terms of breast cancer diagnosis, treatment and age, among other variables.
“We can share tricks of the trade – things even those on the medical side don’t know,” Laura says. “There are tons of them, such as how to prepare your bed so you can move easily in and out, and how to use the lanyard that usually holds a name tag to support surgery drains so that hands are free and you can bathe. Everyone loves that.”
Patients make the decision to use a Pink Sister and Friend, Laura says. “We don’t hover. We leave it up to each woman."But she adds that the goal of advocates is to emulate ‘the Mayo way’. I have never felt so cared for in my life by everyone at Mayo. It is breathtaking, really, and I am proud to be part of the Mayo family.”
“We really needed this program, and it is working out exceptionally well,” says Deborah Feigel, a physician assistant in the breast center who oversees the advocates. “I think of it as a buddy network, and many of the women who were initially mentored by the advocates have since signed up to be pink sisters.”
The role of the advocates is entirely supportive, she adds. “The volunteers know how not to project their own biases as to treatment and medical care. I wish all breast cancer patients nationwide had access to these wonderful women.”
Laura Bergmann feels she was made for the role of managing breast cancer advocates. She is organized, perhaps to a fault, she says with a laugh. But her profession – the “soups to nuts” of creating homes, everything from interior design to construction - demands such focus.
But this Jacksonville native also says her great faith as well as gratitude for the care she has had, and the good outcome, compelled her to start Pink Sisters and Friends.
“I believe this is what I am supposed to do. This is pay it forward,” she says. “I knew from the moment that I was diagnosed, if I got through it, I wanted to help other women get through it, too.”
