This year, Wacoal celebrates its 23rd year of Fit for the Cure in partnership with Komen. For Sue Smith, a fit consultant with Wacoal, the work Komen does is personal.
Just days before her yearly mammogram in 2003, Sue felt a lump in her right breast. “It never occurred to me it could be breast cancer,” Sue said. “I thought it was a cyst.”
At her mammogram appointment, Sue mentioned the lump to her doctor. “They wanted to do further tests after they saw it on the mammogram,” she said. “They wanted to do an ultrasound and a biopsy.” Sue was ultimately diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer.
“It was shocking. I didn’t think it would happen to me,” Sue said. “But once you digest the news, you put on your boxing gloves and say, okay, what do I need to do?”
Sue had a round of chemotherapy to shrink the tumor before having surgery. “We talked through my surgical options and I opted for a lumpectomy,” she explained. Once she healed from surgery, she had another round of chemotherapy followed by radiation therapy.
“Treatment really wiped out a good year of my life,” she said. “But to be able to come through it and be healthy and continue to thrive, that’s the big picture, that’s what I focused on. I followed the path I was given and trusted the path I was on. I’m proud to be here today.”
Sue is proud to work for a company that has supported Komen’s mission to end breast cancer for 25 years. “I was diagnosed shortly after Wacoal started the Fit for the Cure events, so it’s really been full circle for me,” Sue said. “When I was diagnosed, the company really put their arms around me and supported me. Now, at every Fit for the Cure event, it makes my position so meaningful. I can talk to people about the work Komen is doing and about how Wacoal is supporting that work.”
Sue finds meaning being a part of the movement to end breast cancer. “So many people have been touched by breast cancer, and there are so many opportunities out there to become involved and contribute.”
Part of Sue’s contribution is being compassionate with her customers. “When I’m in a fitting room with someone, no matter what her situation is, I want her to be as comfortable as possible,” she said. “And I want to share the work Komen has been doing, I want the message that we need to end breast cancer to remain fresh. We need our daughters, sisters, nieces to continue this fight to end breast cancer.”
Learn more about Wacoal’s partnership with Komen.
