Anglers Against Breast Cancer was born through Darla Bardelli's personal battle with Breast Cancer beginning in August of 2007.
When I was diagnosed with Stage III Breast Cancer, my life as I knew it came crashing in and I was tossed into a place I call CANCERLAND.
As I started my battle against breast cancer I learned immediately that there are many wonderful programs available sponsored by the Komen Foundation and the American Cancer Society they have programs to educate and inform patients about what was going to happen to them, funding for research for a cure and support groups for patients fighting cancer."
However there was a glaring piece missing from the puzzle... what about my husband, my daughters and my family? How were they going to deal with ME having breast cancer and what I was going through?
What I found was that there were very limited resources available to educate, inform and support the MEN who have a woman they love, who like me were tossed into CANCERLAND. I went through 6 grueling months of Chemotherapy, which goes after the cancer, but does a lot of collateral damage along the way… hair loss, nausea, weakness and of course an emotional rollercoaster for me and everyone around me. The One thing we all learned is: CHEMO CAN’T CURE CRAZY! And in keeping with the cancer killing schedule, before I could recover from my last Chemo…
A DOUBLE RADICAL MASTECTOMY… That meant loss of movement in both arms, more weakness and more emotional rollercoaster… Most often everyone forgets that when a women loses her breasts, so does her husband… it’s something no one talks about. After spending some time in between treatments researching what was available for husbands dealing with all the things breast cancer brings to a marriage, talking to numerous doctors and support groups, the first thing I learned is that 50% of marriages fall apart after a breast cancer diagnosis...And that there are no programs, materials or support for husbands, sons, fathers or brothers when it comes to Breast Cancer… it was then that I started Anglers Against Breast Cancer.
Our mission is to create educational, informational and support materials, websites, groups and resources for husbands and family members as they journey with the women they love through the Breast Cancer Battle.
Since our main target is men and my passion is fishing (I have been a national pro on the Women's Bassmaster Tour for 3 years), I felt there was no better way to get the word out than to use fishing as a platform for education and support.
To help me get things started Champion Bass Boats has donated a 2008 Elite 200 Bass Boat with all the trimmings for me to raffle off to raise money for Anglers Against Breast Cancer.
West Coast Fishing.com donated the 2009 Toyota Tundra to tow it around with.
Your $20.00 raffle ticket will give you a 1 in 5,000 chance to win a $50,000. Bass Boat and support Anglers Against Breast Cancer. And more importantly help provide the men who are going through the Battle with the women they love.
For more information contact Darla Bardelli 623-340-7719.
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