Breast cancer survivors
to come together for tea
BY COURTNEY GAILLARD
THE CHRONICl I
Gloria Gregg plans to
attend the Susan G. Konien
Breast Cancer Survivors Tea
next week in spite of being a
victim to a recent house fire
that put her and her 14-year
old daughter out of their home
for the time being.
The annual event will be
held April 10 at the Southeast
ern Center for Contemporary
Arts (SECCA) and will bring
together women from all
walks of life who will share
their stories of struggle and
survival with the disease.
Gregg said that it was an
honor to attend past teas and
be in the company of other
women who have survived
breast cancer as she has
"We've all survived. You
hear so many tragic stories of
people who have not. It's
something about a woman
who has had breast cancer.
You can tell she pampers her
self and really takes time for
(herself)."
After having faced bouts
with cancer three times since
1997 when she was first diag
nosed with breast cancer.
Gregg has endured countless
rounds of chemotherapy and
numerous other tests and treat
ments, "mlany imposing mas
sive side effects on her sys
tem.
"It's good to share with
those women. I find strength
there and I listen to women
who have survived 25 years,
and I always hold onto every
bit of hope that there is. To be
at the tea is a real honor
because so many people do
not make it year to year."
Just 37 years old, Gregg
has survived a mastectomy,
cancer of her lymph nodes and
a bone Atarrow transplant over
the past five years. Gregg
spent most of January in the
hospital after doctors detected
another tumor in her back in
December.
Since that time, Gregg
said, her health has been better
but still she is unable to work
due to
neuropa
thy - a
disorder
of the
nervous
system -
in her
hands
and feet.
Gregg Gregg
said lhat
she doesn't work currently and
tries to volunteer to keep busy
until she is up to speed to
work full time again.
As young as Gregg was
when she was first diagnosed
with cancer, one would have
thought she was not a likely
candidate for the disease,
especially because Gregg's
family history did not include
cancer, at least not until her
sister also was diagnosed with
breast cancer at the age of 34.
"I had never thought about
getting a breast exam or mam
mogram at 31. But I think the
age needs to be lowered," said
Greg about the recommenda
tion that women begin receiv
ing yearly mammograms at
age 40.
Thankful for her family
support and the help of
friends, doctors and staff at
the Comprehensive Cancer
Center and members of Agape
Faith Church in Clemmons.
Gregg said there is nothing
that she really ever needs, par
ticularly after being temporar
ily removed from her home
after it caught fire two weeks
ago.
"I thank God for a really
loving family and just try to
stay positive," said Gregg,
who explained that being well
enough to attend her daughter
Erica's sporting events is the
best dose of medicine for her.
Gregg's daughter is a member
of the JV basketball and track
teams for Reynolds High
School.
Gregg hopes to educate the
public on cancer and the
importance of early detection,
especially in the African
American community, where
Gregg feels many allow their
fears to cause them to ignore
signs of the disease.
"(Cancer) is more aggres
sive in our race than any other
race. I think that ignorance is a
death trap, a death sentence.
Cancer is not a death sentence.
Here I am five years later still
going strong. I put my faith,
not in the doctors, but in God.
and I am thankful for that."
Gregg said.
Linda Miller, patient advo
cate for Cancer Services Inc..
said the cancer tea is a big to
do for survivors.
Local television news per
sonalities Cindy Farmer from
Fox 8 and Kimberly Van Scoy
from News Channel 12 will
emcee the special event.
Oncologists from the Forsyth
Medical Center Regional Can
cer Center and Wake Forest
University Baptist Medical
Center will be on hand to
address the group and to offer
encouragement.
Miller said the tea is a sig
nificant fund-raiseO* for the
local affiliate because 75 per
cent of the money raised stays
right here in the Piedmont.
The tea is open to breast can
cer survivors only and gives
women in all stages of breast
cancer a chance to be together
to share experiences and
encourage one another. 0
"It is so moving to see
women come together and
participate in this." said
Miller, who is a breast cancer
survivor. "For women who are
in treatment now. they're dif
ferent when they leave from
when they come to the tea.
The neat thing is that so many
of us now. we're living with
breast cancer and not all dying
from it."
If you are a breast cancer
survivor and would like to
sign up for the tea. call (336)
721-0032. The tea will be from
4-6:30 p.m.
Cancer Services Inc. will
hold a silent auction for breast
cancer research on April 11 at
Allegacy Federal Credit
Union at the Westbrook Plaza
location from 6-8:30 p.m.
ESR community
forum focuses on
affordable housing
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
ESR conducted the first of
five
i n i c r a c -
tive com
munity
forums
on the
evening
of Tues
d a y .
March
26, at
Winston
Salem
Stale
University's Anderson Center,
as part of the agency's ECHO
grant from the Winston-Salem
Foundation to help build
social capital in the communi
ty
Dr. Harold Martin, chan
cellor of the university,
opened the forum after a peri
od of informal networking and
information gathering from
display booths. Next came a
series of workshops and facil
itated discussions related to
the topic of affordable hous
ing. More than 125 partici
pants attended the event,
including ESR clients and
community leaders.
"ESR, the agency that
empowers people to become
self-reliant, was awarded a
$50,000 ECHO grant by The
Winston-Salem Foundation to
help build relationships
between people who are dif
ferent from each other across
racial, social and economic
lines, " said Twana C. Well
man, executive director of
ESR. "We at ESR are grateful
for this wonderful opportunity
to help build social capital.'"
The series of community
forums - .called "ECHO
SoundByte's'' - which also
will cover the topics of living
wage employment, vocational
education, health care cover
age for the low-income, and
re-entry of the incarcerated
into society, will culminate in
a Community and Cultural
Summit this fall. Core partici
pants in the entire series of
events will comprise a range
of individuals from the
socioeconomic spectrum. The
next scheduled forum on
employment is set for Satur
day. April 27, at 9 a.m. at the
Wachovia Park Building, on
the comer of First and Cherry
streets.
"Our vision is to help form
relationships among people of
different socioeconomic cir
cumstances, and.' in the
process, promote understand
ing and better the quality of
life for ail of the community -
particularly those our agency
serves." Wellman said.
"ESR is uniquely posi
tioned to help build social
capital across socioeconomic
lines.'" said Dr. Frank James,
current chair of the ESR board
of directors and chair emeritus
of the anesthesiology depart
ment of Wake Forest Univer
sity Baptist Medical Center.
"Our low-wealth clientele,
combined with our longevity
in the community, has fos
tered strong institutional rela
tionships over the years."
ESR was chartered as the
Experiment in Self-Reliance
in 1964 as one of a network of
Community Action Agencies
across the nation established
as grass-roots organizations to
alleviate poverty and fight
injustice. The agency now
typically serves some 725
households annually within
Forsyth County through its,,
self-sufficiency and transi
tional housing programs.
ESR also administers the
county's iififvidual Develop
ment Account (IDA) collabo
rative. a nationwide program
that promotes asset building
among the low-income by
providing incentive matching
funds for individual savings
toward first-time homeowner
ship. small business start-up.
or college education, as well
as training sessions in eco
See ESR on A10
Martin
Eggtraordinary
Krispy Kreme t/nd the
Winston-Salem Chil
dren's Museum gave
young people a lot to
smile about Saturday.
In honor of Caster, a
special day of fun was
staged at the future site
of the museum on
Brookstown Avenue.
Activities included face
painting, a petting zoo,
arts and crafts and lots
of Krispy Kreme prod
ucts. Hundreds took
part in the activities,
including Sandra
Palmer, at right, and
her children, Danielle
and Maurice. Julia
McMillian, an employee
at Krispy Kreme's Strat
ford Road location,
showed kids how
doughnuts are made at
the company.
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