Reality Rally

Michelle felt she would have liked a place she could receive emotional comfort, a listening ear, and an opportunity to talk with someone who is surviving breast cancer and learning to cope with the disease. This place should also provide the latest information regarding treatment options, coping strategies, up-to-date research and clinical developments so the person and their family can help in planning and be informed when making treatment decisions.

This is what Michelle's Place does on a yearly basis and has since they opened their doors 17 years ago to hlep others.

883 New Clients : Over 880 new women diagnosed with breast cancer walked through our doors seeking support services.

9,524 Services Provided : 9,524 Wigs, prosthesis, bras, books, seminars, tool kits, and more given out FREE to our community.

53 Health Fairs: We participated in 53 health fairs in Southern California

86 Events : From t-shirts and sunglasses, to candles and auctions, 86 third party events raised money for Michelle’s Place.

3,554 Encouragement Calls:  Our volunteers provided over 3,500 call to women lending their ears and offering advice.

218 Diagnostic Services: Over 200 screening and diagnostic mammograms, biopsies, surgical consults and ultrasounds were given to women with a symptom of breast cancer.

243 Children Helped : 243 children with mother’s fighting breast cancer were helped this year with backpacks, school supplies and Christmas gifts.

15 Educational Seminars : 15 educational seminars we provided to our community.

 8,117 Volunteer Hours : Over 75 volunteers worked a combined 8,117 hours in the center, at walks, health fairs, events, seminars and more.

 52 Speaking Engagements : Kim, our Executive Director spoke with 52 community groups and businesses wanting to learn more about Michelle’s Place and early detection.

 $50,000 Pink Ribbon Assistance : Over $50,000 given in financial assistance to women going through active breast cancer treatment.

They rely on funding and fundraising to do all of this and that is why Reality Rally does our annual event to help make a difference in the lives of others.

Michelle shared a love of life and persevered to the end with a valiant determination to beat the challenge of breast cancer and always shared her knowledge and experience of battling cancer in a positive, uplifting way. Although her journey on earth was cut short at the age of 26, her vision of helping others with breast cancer has been the inspiration to open Michelle’s Place to assist those walking a similar path.

Especially important at Michelle’s Place is the provision of education to those women not yet touched by the disease. They must know that if a lesion is mammographically detected during the early development stage, chance of survival and/or cure rate is raised to a dramatic 95% or more. This is a major improvement over today’s variable survival rates among different ethnic groups, ranging from 55% to 79% — because, like Michelle, many of them are discovering breast cancer too late. It is clear that a very high priority for Michelle’s Place is to help educate everyone in our community, from our young women to our seniors.