The first fashion show took place in October of 2007, six years after losing my mother to Breast Cancer. The event gave me an avenue to give a long overdue tribute to an amazing mother, as well as providing a stage for the models to celebrate their heroic success at defeating the disease. My siblings and I have felt extremely lucky to have endless layers of support, love, and kindness throughout what seemed an impossible task—to live with my mother’s absence. Not every child who loses his or her mother to Cancer has the kind of support that we have been lucky enough to experience; therefore, it became clear that I wanted to focus on organizations that provide similar support. In 2007 the funds raised went to a commendable center, A Children’s Treehouse, in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, to support programs that help families that are beginning their lives without their mothers. This past year, however, I found a more local center equally worthy of support. Dr. John Erban, or "Jack" as he insists on everyone calling him, runs the center within The Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. Jack cared for my mother for close to ten years, extending her life nine-and-a-half years beyond her initial diagnosis. After years of listening to stories about different women's battles with Breast Cancer, it was evident that the inspiration to live, for many of Jack’s patients, came from a variety of medical sources. However, the power of love and support from friends and family could not be ignored. Jack has seen this determination in the hearts of his patients and works from that internal source of hope to help his "fighters" survive. And it has been because of these experiences that he created The Patient and Caregiver Fund at MGH to help families support their brave mothers, sisters, aunts, or friends fight their battles against the disease. The choice to raise money for this fund seems both cyclical for me personally, but also worthy of all of our attention when thinking about the impact Breast Cancer has on a family.

To learn more about the fund click here.