Breast Cancer Awareness Month

By Virginia Huie

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This week I met an incredible woman who battled the disease. She's 49 year old Elaine Beermann of Floral Park. Two years ago, doctors found a pea-size lump in her breast. It was malignant. Beermann says she was terrified but focused on beating the disease. She says she had too much to live for -- three children and a husband. She was determined to see every milestone in their lives.

In March 2006 Beermann had a lumpectomy followed by chemotherapy and radiation. During this time, Beermann lost her hair and gained a new perspective on life. Beermann told me, "I have a grateful heart. And when you get to be okay, it's all about giving back."

Beermann started a website called "Let's Rock and Roll For A Cure." The name means "let's get the job done."  Money raised from the sale of jewelry and clothing on the website supports clinical trials of breast cancer drugs. People in the community were inspired by Beermann's effort -- and signed up to help the cause. Now there's a wide variety of service providers who are volunteering their skills to help women battling the disease. Those volunteers include hairstylists, yoga instructors and babysitters. Beermann says she's amazed at how "Let's Rock and Roll For A Cure" has grown into a support network to help patients feel stronger, healthier, and more focused while they undergo treatment.

The women who've benefited say Beermann is the amazing one -- for giving those in need a hand to hold, a shoulder to cry on,  and the tools to fight the disease.

Click here to learn more about Let's Rock And Roll For A Cure.