Breast cancer is never a welcome diagnosis. But for each person with the disease, there’s a different set of circumstances that can make treatment difficult to navigate. Whether it’s childcare concerns, getting time off work or even re-imagining life goals, everyone with breast cancer has to forge their own path forward. But they don’t have to do it alone.
A local organization called After Breast Cancer Diagnosis (ABCD) helps people with breast cancer connect with mentors. They’re matched based on similar life experiences and diagnoses to help support people with this disease.
“Our mentors reach out to the person who needs support, and they’re able to have the real conversations,” Schupper says. “They’re able to talk about concerns or get advice or get answers to questions that only someone who’s really been there and really had to face the same situations ... can truly understand.”
Schupper is a recipient for this year's Betty Awards from Milwaukee Magazine. The awards honor extraordinary women doing remarkable work in Milwaukee. Schupper joins Lake Effect’s JoyPowers to talk about her work.
“Research shows that the kind of support that ABCD provides, peer-to-peer emotional support, can make a profound difference on medical outcomes,” she says.
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