Breast Cancer Survivor Finds Happiness Modeling Bras

It can be terrifying when a woman finds out she has breast cancer. For Nancy Armstrong, the diagnosis took some time to sink in. Not because she was in shock—she was just too busy.

Armstrong was 37 when she was learned she had stage 2 breast cancer in 2008. She had been divorced less than a month and was in the process of reimagining her life, which included moving to Royal Oak and caring for her two children, ages 18 and 5, and a new grandchild.

“My son just had just graduated and had a baby. He and the baby, and the baby’s mother, were all living with me when I found out I had breast cancer,” she said. “I would come home from chemo, and the baby would be crying. I would be so tired, but what are you going to do? My life was a state of confusion.”

Armstrong said that between tending to her family, chemo treatments and two surgeries, she was so caught up that it took her months to realize what was happening to her. When she finally did, she thought to herself, “Holy crap!”

Gilda’s Club

“When I finished my chemo and I was getting ready for radiation, I turned to ,” she said. “I had just lost my eyebrows, and I realized having hair was part of a normal life and that my life just wasn’t normal anymore.” She felt she needed outside support.

“My kids took my diagnosis hard, but my sister was so great," Armstrong said. "She came to all my treatments and surgeries with me.”

Still, Armstrong felt the need to be with others who were dealing with the issues she was going through.

At Gilda’s Club, she found an emotional and social support community. The club is named in honor of Saturday Night Live comedian Gilda Radner, who died of ovarian cancer in 1989.

The Rack Pack

When Armstrong went to her treatments, the other women in the waiting room would be “in their 60s, 70s and 80s,” she said. “I would be the only young person. They were all nice people, but I felt they didn’t understand.”

At Gilda’s Club, Armstrong found a group called the Rack Pack, led by Shannon Watson. Watson was a 25-year-old bride-to-be when she learned she had breast cancer in 2006. She started the support group for women younger than 40.

“I was meeting with other women my age who were looking for the same answers I was. Can we have more kids? How do we date? Will anyone want to be with someone who has so many medical problems and scars—someone in medical menopause?” Armstrong said. (Some medications used in chemotherapy result in menopausal symptoms or menopause.)

“The meetings were a nice change," she said. "They helped me make sense of my life. I could say, ‘Hey, I’m in menopause. Deal with it.' I learned how to live my life day to day.”

Bras for a Cause

Through Watson, Armstrong got involved with (BFAC).

“Bras for a Cause is a third-party event coordinated by Gilda’s Club members and volunteers to raise funds for us,” said Heather Hall, executive directive for Gilda’s Club Metro Detroit. “The highlight is a . In the three years BFAC has occurred, it raised $50,000 (2009), $85,000 (2010) and $60,000 (2011)."

Armstrong has co-chaired BFAC for the past two years. “I wanted to give back to the community and tell my story,” she said. “I want people to know breast cancer does not have to be a death sentence and that maybe we don’t have hair, but we still see beauty in ourselves.”

The idea of walking across a stage in a bra in front of a room full of people was “overwhelming,” but Armstrong did it. “I looked out, and I saw happiness in all the faces. It made me feel loved and confident.”

Rack Pack Loses 'Super Cool Individual'

Watson died in 2010 at the age of 29. In 2009, she wrote in her blog:

It’s funny when I think back to the day I walked into the executive director of Gilda’s Club’s office and introduced myself as a new member. I first mentioned that I would like to start a group for young women with breast cancer. Then I started to tell him about a fundraiser I would like to plan for them that I think would raise a lot of money. I knew at the time I was the only one who could see it the way I did. The amazing thing is, when I was up there on stage the night of Bras for a Cause, I realized the night was everything I had imagined in my head. And I'm a big dreamer too.

In Watson’s blog bio, she wrote about co-founding BFAC and other achievements. Her bio ends with, “I'm just a super cool individual if you want the short version.”

Armstrong agrees with Watson’s self-assessment and continues BFAC with Watson’s widower, Kevin Watson, and others.

“We band together and do it in memory of Shannon,” Armstrong said. “She always had a smile on her face. You would never know she was sick.”

Day by Day

Armstrong, now a three-year breast cancer survivor, goes to the doctor every three months and has made an appointment for her first bone scan. “It’s scaring the crap out of me,” she said. “I am going to meetings to help me with that.”

Armstrong tries to maintain a positive mindset. She admits that every time she feels a twinge or lump, she cringes. “I remind myself that even if it is something, I have my family, friends and support. I can do this.”

“Over time, you begin to realize minor things are just that—minor. Major things? Well, you get out of bed, and you go about your day. I do the best I can and try my best to be as happy as possible.”