From uniforms to volleyballs, pink is everywhere lately.
Teams from all over the area have designated one of their matches as a Volley For The Cure night this month. With October being breast cancer awareness month, and with the IHSA promoting these fundraisers more this year, teams wearing pink uniforms and raising money for cancer research have become quite popular.
Everyone knows someone affected by the disease. But how many teams are doing it for one of their own? It wouldn’t seem possible. Breast cancer is only supposed to happen to women ages 50 and older.
Try telling that to Belvidere North’s Amy Brechon.
Brechon is a breast cancer survivor. She’s also a senior, an honor roll student, a National Honor Society member, and a right side hitter on North’s volleyball team. Not your typical candidate for someone who’s been through what she has.
“Whenever I speak to groups about it, it keeps getting harder and harder because now I think I’m realizing what really happened to me,” Brechon said.
Brechon was 13 when she found a lump. Her family never thought it would be cancer at that age. But because there is such a strong history of it in the family, they took her to a doctor when it didn’t go away.
“I thought ‘Oh, honey, you’re in eighth grade. Don’t worry, I’m sure it’s nothing,’ ” said Amy’s mother, Kathy Brechon. “But when it was still there about a month later, they did an ultrasound. The surgeon told us it was not normal, so they did the biopsy. We were shocked.”
Amy herself said she was too young to realize the seriousness of the situation.
“I was never really scared,” Brechon said. “I just figured my parents would take care of everything. And I was lucky with the kind of cancer I got (Cystosarcoma phyllodes), because it wasn’t as severe as others, and I just needed surgery to remove it.”
The risk of a teen being diagnosed with breast cancer is extremely low. About 77 percent of women who get it are older than 50. An additional 18 percent are in their 40s, which leaves just a 5 percent chance of having it at age 39 or younger.
“So it’s even more rare for a young person,” Kathy said. “It was a really low grade, so that made us feel better. Because she was so young, I felt I needed to protect her somewhat. I’d just tell her there’s nothing to worry about, but then I’d go in the shower and cry. I think she just didn’t get it, she was so young.”
Brechon, who has been involved in athletics her entire life, had the lump removed and returned to normal physical activity within days of the surgery. She hasn’t had any further problems with it, and now, she goes with her mother every six months for routine mammograms.
Until recently, Brechon had kept the situation fairly private. But as she gets older, the bright, blond teenager is realizing she can turn her situation into something positive.
“I’m just starting to understand that now I can help,” Amy said. “I can voice it and tell girls that you are never too young. Get checkups, give yourself checkups. And as embarrassing as it might seem now, it will help you.”
Her teammates supported her Oct. 6 when North held its Volley For The Cure night. The Blue Thunder raised almost $500 with fundraisers and raffles in conjunction with a home volleyball match.
North wore pink jerseys, the fans wore pink T-shirts, and they played with a pink volleyball.
“It was a big success for doing it for the first time,” North coach Bria Holzinger said. “I think our girls were especially motivated because of what Amy went through. The girls were all for it. This is obviously a cause that is near and dear to our programs’ heart.”
Emily Tropp covers prep sports for the Rockford Register Star. Contact her at 815-987-1385 or etropp@rrstar.com.
Photos
Stories
