After being diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2014, Kristie Fields chose to fight through the stress of figuring out how to get treatment with no health insurance while still working and taking care of her three children.
With two more chemo treatments left and no support group, Fields said she needed emotional help as she felt no one could relate or comfort her.
“Sometimes you just feel ugly,” Fields said. “Only someone who’s gone through it understands. You get so much of the pity eyes that you don’t want to tell them what your story is. I don’t want people to look at me like, ‘you poor baby, let me be nice.'”
In July 2014, she said she called Riverside Hospital hoping to get psychiatric help. Instead she was redirected to Beyond Boobs, a support group for women under 50 that focuses on help and education.
After one meeting, she was hooked.
Now cancer-free, Fields is determined to share awareness and education through a website she’s created called pinkslayer.org. Throughout the site, she shares her story, information about Beyond Boobs, donations and affiliates to purchase from.
Fields said she related to the women at Beyond Boobs meetings and felt she could talk openly with them. Additionally, they have resources for financial help and a retreat for cancer patients to get a spa day without the risk of infections.
From her experience, Fields has become a member of the Cancer Forum of Virginia, received a scholarship for training as a patient navigator who will support cancer patients from diagnosis throughout treatments, and is a 2017 calendar girl for Beyond Boobs.
The calendar educates about breast cancer while sharing the stories of 12 women of varying ages, locations and diagnosis. On Sept. 17, the women will attend the Pink Carpet Gala to see their photos for the first time and become ambassadors, working to raise donations for the organization.
“They become a walking billboard for what we do,” said Vicki Vawter, events and community relations manager for Beyond Boobs. “Hopefully the intent is to educate everyone along the way. To talk to someone about it who went through this, then they really listen.”
Though Pink Slayer began as a main way to earn donations for the Beyond Boobs calendar, Fields said she hopes to fill it with interviews with medical professionals, survivors and family members, so there is a wide range of information for everyone.
“There’s a lot of medical information that we just don’t know and the doctors are bombarded by patients that they can’t sit down and tell you everything from A to Z,” Fields said. “Sometimes we have to sit down and get the information ourselves.”
For example, Fields said she wasn’t aware of a link between breast cancer and prostate cancer, which her father had. With that knowledge, she said she would have gotten genetic testing sooner.
Though Pink Slayer is still growing and only has a few blog posts by Fields, she said she hopes the site will get people thinking about their health and the resources they can use.
“At the end of the day it’s how can you make a positive outlook for someone else,” Fields said. “You try to stay proactive you keep up with your health, you start living life and that’s what I’m trying to do right now.”
