The Villages - October 2017 - 18

Scars tell our stories
They say, "We survived,"
And make art of our grief
With the brushstrokes of hope
Scars spurn perfection
They make strength our crown
And prove our ability
To break and then heal
Scars say we're one
Bound in a sisterhood
Of losses and wins
By way of...
Our scars.

18

OCTOBER 2017

artenex/iStock/Thinkstock
Attsetski/iStock/Thinkstock

Scars map the journey
The pits and the paths
Where pain carved its name
On our flesh

100kers/iStock/Thinkstock

By Rica Lewis

pakorn sungkapukdee/iStock/Thinkstock

SiSterhood
of ScarS

Decades beyond the breast cancer, Sasmor finds the
silver lining in the dark cloud of that terrible disease.
She is grateful to be alive and to have been diagnosed
at a time when awareness was so prevalent.
"By the time my cancer was diagnosed, people
were signing petitions to get funding for cancer,"
Sasmor said. "People were talking about cancer.
Planned Parenthood was doing mammograms.
We were aware. We said 'cancer' and didn't shrink
from it. I think of my mother and how she changed
clothes in the closet and wouldn't let anyone see
her. It's a much better time for detection, support
and discovery of breast cancer. There is no more
shame because we've made our scars our badges
of courage."
Moving to The Villages post-retirement opened a
new and unexpected chapter for Sasmor.
"I saw a blurb in the Daily Sun about the Dragon
Sisters boat team. I was drawn to the sisterhood."
The club is made up of women who have fought
and beaten breast cancer, as well as those who have
supported a loved one through the journey.
"I was never a physically active person," Sasmor
said. "I'm a bookworm, but here I am winning
medals."
The 46 women in Sasmor's group are generous
and loving.
"The camaraderie is unbelievable," she said.
"We work hard. I hurt in places I never felt before.
We spend our time competing and giving back to a
number of charities."
About 1 in 8 women will develop invasive breast
cancer over the course of their lifetimes, according to
breastcancer.org. But for Sasmor and her sisterhood
of Villages survivors and supporters, the struggle is
not a singular event or a solo experience.
Together they face cancer, fight cancer and speak
on behalf of those suffering.
"We're tapping into our strength - together."



http://www.breastcancer.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Villages - October 2017

Contents
The Villages - October 2017 - Cover1
The Villages - October 2017 - Contents
The Villages - October 2017 - 1
The Villages - October 2017 - 2
The Villages - October 2017 - 3
The Villages - October 2017 - 4
The Villages - October 2017 - 5
The Villages - October 2017 - 6
The Villages - October 2017 - 7
The Villages - October 2017 - 8
The Villages - October 2017 - 9
The Villages - October 2017 - 10
The Villages - October 2017 - 11
The Villages - October 2017 - 12
The Villages - October 2017 - 13
The Villages - October 2017 - 14
The Villages - October 2017 - 15
The Villages - October 2017 - 16
The Villages - October 2017 - 17
The Villages - October 2017 - 18
The Villages - October 2017 - 19
The Villages - October 2017 - 20
The Villages - October 2017 - 21
The Villages - October 2017 - 22
The Villages - October 2017 - 23
The Villages - October 2017 - 24
The Villages - October 2017 - 25
The Villages - October 2017 - 26
The Villages - October 2017 - 27
The Villages - October 2017 - 28
The Villages - October 2017 - 29
The Villages - October 2017 - 30
The Villages - October 2017 - 31
The Villages - October 2017 - 32
The Villages - October 2017 - 33
The Villages - October 2017 - 34
The Villages - October 2017 - 35
The Villages - October 2017 - 36
The Villages - October 2017 - 37
The Villages - October 2017 - 38
The Villages - October 2017 - 39
The Villages - October 2017 - 40
The Villages - October 2017 - 41
The Villages - October 2017 - 42
The Villages - October 2017 - 43
The Villages - October 2017 - 44
The Villages - October 2017 - 45
The Villages - October 2017 - 46
The Villages - October 2017 - 47
The Villages - October 2017 - 48
The Villages - October 2017 - 49
The Villages - October 2017 - 50
The Villages - October 2017 - 51
The Villages - October 2017 - 52
The Villages - October 2017 - 53
The Villages - October 2017 - 54
The Villages - October 2017 - 55
The Villages - October 2017 - 56
The Villages - October 2017 - 57
The Villages - October 2017 - 58
The Villages - October 2017 - 59
The Villages - October 2017 - 60
The Villages - October 2017 - 61
The Villages - October 2017 - 62
The Villages - October 2017 - 63
The Villages - October 2017 - 64
The Villages - October 2017 - 65
The Villages - October 2017 - 66
The Villages - October 2017 - 67
The Villages - October 2017 - 68
The Villages - October 2017 - Cover3
The Villages - October 2017 - Cover4
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