Calabasas woman leads the way in Revlon Breast Cancer Run/Walk

Sally Bowman

The latest statistics for breast cancer are, in a word, alarming. According to recent reports, more than 200,000 new cases of the disease will be diagnosed in 2002. Breast cancer, the most the most common cancer among women, accounts for nearly 33 percent of all cancers diagnosed in the United States. The death toll from breast cancer is expected to surpass 41,000 this year.

Though certain risk factors such as heredity can be identified, not everyone who gets the disease understands why.

"I wasn’t someone who should have gotten breast cancer," said 47-year-old survivor Sally Bowman of Calabasas. "I was a statistic that really shouldn’t have happened."

Bowman, who learned that she had malignant cells in her left breast 11 years ago, works for the public relations group promoting this year’s Revlon Run/Walk for Women. The event is this Sat., May 11 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

A healthy mother of two, Bowman said she ate well, exercised regularly and sported a slender physique. Bowman said her mother had breast cancer, but because her mom was post-menopausal when she was diagnosed, her daughter’s chances of getting the disease were supposedly slight.

After doctors told her the cancer had a 33 percent chance of spreading to her other breast, Bowman decided to shun traditional chemotherapy and radiation, and elected to have a double mastectomy.

"Women are afraid of breast cancer and I don’t need to tell you why, because if you don’t have your breasts and you’re not perfect, the way society is, you’re not beautiful," she said.

Because she had no palpable lump in either breast and because she tested healthy in her lymph nodes, Bowman’s radical treatment approach came under question.

"I said if you were to tell me I had a half or a quarter of a percent chance [of the cancer spreading], that’s too much for me. I wanted it gone."

Doctors knew her mind was made up. She went to the hospital on Dec. 3, 1991 and boldly underwent her operation.

"As I awoke from my surgery, my mom, weakened by her chemotherapy, was standing by my bedside holding my hand and making sure I was okay," Bowman said.

Less than a few months later, her mother died.

Bowman, meanwhile, has remained cancer free. She has an 11-year-old daughter and a 14-year-old son to help provide inspiration.

"I am alive today because of a mammogram, a great surgeon, loving support from my husband, family and friends, my fighting spirit and a positive attitude."

To monitor her health, Bowman said she undergoes a battery of cancer screening tests every year, including a trans-vaginal ultrasound that measures blood flow to the ovaries.

In addition to breast cancer, the Revlon Run/Walk targets ovarian cancer. According to medical experts, breast cancer survivors also carry a risk of ovarian cancer.

While much less prevalent than breast cancer, ovarian cancer is a "silent killer" according to Bowman because its symptoms are difficult to detect.

The majority of ovarian cancers occur after menopause, which takes place in most women around age 51. More than 50 percent of all ovarian cancers occur in women over age 65.

Hormone replacement therapy has come under fire as one of the causes of the cancer.

"I"ve been working for this charity for nine years and I wish I could tell you what causes breast and ovarian cancer," Bowman said.

This Saturday’s Run/Walk begins with on-site registration at the Coliseum at 7 a.m. The 5K run begins at 8:45 a.m. followed by the 5K walk at 9 a.m.. More than 60,000 people are expected.

Begun in 1993, the Run/Walk has raised more than $22 million for various cancer charities.

"The women and men who turn out for this even are proving that together we can make a huge difference in the pace of cancer research," said Ronald Perelman, chairman of Revlon, Inc.

Celebrity hosts Andy Garcia, Rennee Zellweger and Revlon spokeswoman Karen Duffy will be among those in attendance.

Bowman will be one of the featured speakers and said she looks forward to telling her story.

"It happened to my mom, it happened to me, and I absolutely do not want it to happen to my daughter," she said.