On October 3, 2019, the 11th Annual Drink Pink for a cause will take place at The Lounsbury House in Ridgefield. This event supports Ann’s Place while putting a spotlight on local breast cancer survivors.
The photo you see here is one of Kristen Jensen’s “Courageous Faces”. This and many other photos of cancer survivors, and those in the midst of treatment will blanket the walls of the Lounsbury House telling a story of life, struggle, friendship, and hope.
Visit Crowdrise HERE to support the 2019 Drink Pink Courageous Faces.
Here, we couple the many Courageous Faces with their unique stories. We thank each and every one of these ladies for sharing their journey with us.
Meet Drink Pink model and Courageous Face, Jenipher Lagana
Hometown: Brookfield, CT
When and how did you first learn you had breast cancer?
First of all, I was stupidly lucky as you will see. On December 17th, 2013 I woke up at 3:30 in the morning with a pain in my chest. When I went to feel it, there was a lump. I kinda freaked out and then fell back to sleep (which seems crazy to me). I was in the shower getting ready for work and I felt that exact same pain in my chest and reminded myself to call my doctor. It was a nasty morning and sleeting. My doctor had me come over right away. She checked me out and sent me over to Danbury Imaging - even though she didn’t suspect it was cancer because it was found by pain and the lump was in my left pectoral muscle.
At Danbury Imaging, they did a mammogram and an ultrasound. The radiation tech came and said they needed to do a biopsy. Because the weather was crappy and no other patients were there, I was able to talk them into doing the biopsy right away.
On Friday, December 20th I was at my work holiday luncheon party and I got the call. The entire company watched as I walked across the room to take the call outside. My doctor told me it was cancer. She also told me she had an appointment scheduled for me with a breast surgeon on Monday. We scheduled my lumpectomy for January 21st. So I had all of that information in just a few days! The horrible weather was a benefit to me and I was super lucky! Plus, I ended up not needing chemo which was HUGE!
Who did you turn to for support and how was that person or organization supportive?
Let's get this out of the way. I have had cancer five times. My first was a melanoma on my back in 1995. The next was cervical cancer in 2011. Then breast cancer in 2013/2014. Then two separate basil cell carcinomas in 2017. I am a giant mutating cell! I have never been much of a joiner and while I think the work Anne’s Place does is awesome, I opted to create my own support group. I created a group of friends and family who supported me. My requirement for them to be part of that group was that they had to be supportive and positive people. I communicated through email every step of the way and these people really kept me strong. Given that I had already had cervical cancer, I was not as scared this time as I just knew I would be fine. I also knew I could not get angry about it as it would just fuel the cancer. So I asked my friends to get angry for me. I focused on staying positive, laughing as much as possible and accepting all the love I could. I also needed something to make this second round of cancer mean something to me so I decided to announce to the entire company that I had it and that anyone who had questions or was afraid of cancer could talk to me and ask me anything they wanted. It was very empowering and I know I helped some people change the way they look at cancer. What’s better than that? Additionally, I am married to the most amazing man on the planet and his support, love, laughter and comfort was phenomenal. I am so lucky to have him in my life.
Tell me about something someone said or did that helped you through your most difficult days
This may sound ridiculous but I did not have many difficult days. When I was first told I had cervical cancer I panicked. But the second I met my OBGYN Oncologist Dr. Shohreh Shihabi, she took Randy and me by the hands, told us we were a very special couple and that I would be fine. I trusted her completely. So when I received my breast cancer diagnosis, I was already in it to win it when I met with Dr. Staradub. And because I did not need chemo, I had already won. My radiation treatments were very straightforward and I was done in 32 days.
During that period, I was incredibly fortunate to have people reach out to me almost daily to wish me well, lay hands on me, send me positive energy and love. I am a big personality and I will talk to anyone about anything and while I was going through my breast cancer, I was not shy about asking anyone who seemed positive to send me good vibes and think good thoughts for me. There were so many awesome interactions with complete strangers that gave me so much hope! I am not very religious but I even had a minister lay hands on me in a Starbucks parking lot in a way that was very cool!
Tell me about your photoshoot with Kristen
I was a late addition to all this. Kristen and my husband were talking and he mentioned that I had breast cancer and she asked if I was interested in being part of the shoot. We met on August 5 at her beautiful studio and it was a blast! Kristen is a lovely person with great warmth and a killer smile. She made me feel completely comfortable and totally supported me being me in the shoot. We laughed, had way too much fun and hopefully got some great shots!
What message do you have for others who have been diagnosed with breast cancer?
Stay strong and find a reason to fight. There are a lot of terrible things that go with having cancer. Attitude is what will get you through. It is all a process. Do whatever you need to do to get your head right and allow people to help you. There is so much love in this world. Allow people to love you. Let them in. It is the greatest gift to them and to you.
Drink Pink for a cause will take place at The Lounsbury House, located at 316 Main Street in Ridgefield on October 3 from 6 to 8pm. Learn more about Ann’s Place here.