Breast cancer survivors celebrate life at Brushes and Beverages on Broadway

As Mary Louise Griffin painted on a blank canvass, yellow tulips emerged evoking childhood memories.

“I did a paint-by-numbers painting of two ballerinas when I was 10,” said the Pine Mountain resident, who didn’t paint again for more than 50 years. “Those are hanging in my house. I’m not sure why I kept them, but I did.”

Griffin, 67, painted the tulips as part of a ladies night out for breast cancer survivors held at Brushes and Beverages on Broadway. The event, sponsored by Chattahoochee Plastic Surgery, included wine and refreshments.

“October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and every year we try to honor our breast cancer survivors with some event that can bring them together, give them something to laugh at, smile at, and give them a chance to fellowship with one another,” said Dr. Vincent Naman, a local plastic surgeon who did the women’s breast reconstructions.“This year, we decided to do something more creative and bring them out to Brushes and Beverages to give them an opportunity to do some art.”

Griffin, a retired aviator, said she learned of the cancer in 2015 after a regular mammogram. Last week, she still couldn’t describe how she felt when she received the diagnosis.

“I don’t yet know how to capture the emotion of those words, ‘You have breast cancer,’” she said. “It was pretty dramatic. And even though I knew the doctor on the phone telling me that, it didn’t make it any easier. Someday, I think I will be able to put it into better words, but I haven’t yet gotten there.”

After going through radiation, Griffin had a lumpectomy and went to Naman for minor reconstruction. At the time of the Brushes and Beverages event, she was just five-weeks out of surgery and feeling optimistic about the future. The painting exercise allowed her to express her feelings through art.

Angela Sims, a 41-year-old Phenix City resident, is an eight-month breast cancer survivor. Sims said she discovered a lump in her breast last summer while taking a shower. That led to 26 rounds of chemotherapy and a double mastectomy. At the art studio, she painted a butterfly lady against a fuchsia background.

“I’m just thankful to be here, because for a while it was rough,” said the mother of two sons. The most difficult part was losing her hair, she said, but she adapted and uses her experience to encourage others.

Latasha Crawford, 36, first discovered a lump in her breast four years ago in the shower. She said her mother and grandmother both died of breast cancer, and she checked regularly for signs of the disease. After diagnosis, she had a double mastectomy and six months of chemotherapy.

Crawford said she has three children who inspire her to keep going, so she painted pink flowers for them at Brushes and Beverages.

“I always try to keep myself uplifted, because if I stay uplifted, nothing else can really control what’s going on or how I feel,” she said. “I think that’s what helped me - that and my kids.”

This story was originally published October 30, 2016 at 9:23 PM with the headline "Breast cancer survivors celebrate life at Brushes and Beverages on Broadway."