Bellingham art show raises awareness about breast cancer

MAX BITTLE | THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

• IF YOU GO

  What: 11th "Reaching for the Light" breast cancer awareness art exhibit, which is being put on this year by Bellingham Breast Center and Blue Horse Gallery.
  Where: Blue Horse Gallery, 301 W. Holly St., near Bay Street, in Bellingham.
  When: The show opens with a reception 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17. The exhibit continues through Oct. 31. Regular gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday.
  Cost: Entry is free but organizers are auctioning a bronze sculpture, "Boxer Maquette," donated by Los Angeles-area sculptor Gwynn Murrill, who is a breast cancer survivor. Proceeds will support the art show. Bids will be accepted until the show's end on Oct. 31.
  Details: Call 671-2305 or go online to www.bluehorsegallery.com, click on Future Exhibitions and then Reaching for the Light.
  

• Susan G. Komen for the Cure
  
• American Cancer Society
  

Weiss is a longtime participant in the exhibit, which features art by and for those affected by breast cancer.

She does it for her sisters, who were diagnosed years ago.

"It would be honoring my sisters," Weiss said, "and the fact that they are survivors giving hope to other people."

About 182,460 U.S. women will be diagnosed with the disease this year, according to the American Cancer Society, and 40,480 will die.

"Reaching for the Light" honors survivors and those who lost their battle.

It's also about sharing information, including life-saving measures. Nothing does that better than early detection, said Leslie Jacobson, who has organized the show from the beginning.

"That's why we keep doing this," said Jacobson, who also is the psychosocial director for Bellingham Breast Center.

It's important to note, Jacobson said, that nearly half of women with breast cancer are 65 years and older.

But younger women need to be vigilant as well, given news this year of actress Christina Applegate's battle with the disease at age 36, she added.

It's not a disease that strikes women just ages 40 to 60, Jacobson said.

"It's a disease also of younger women and older women," she said.

For her part, Weiss doesn't have to be sold on the importance of early detection. She does self-examinations and gets mammograms every year.

After all, early detection saved her sisters.

One found a lump in her breast herself. The other found one with the help of a mammogram. One is a 35-year survivor of breast cancer, the other a 10-year survivor.

Weiss will be thinking of them when she goes to "Reaching for the Light" on its opening night.

"It's a good show," she said. "Some may stay away because they may feel it's depressing. It really isn't. There's a lot of talk about survival and prevention. In general, it's very hopeful."

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