The Pink Ribbon Gals

A woman wearing a pink-ribbon scarf knocked at the blue door.
Erica Hutchinson, sporting a pink-ribbon pin, welcomed her guest, the first to arrive.

Awaiting the arrival of a few more "Pink Ribbon Gals," the two chatted at Hutchinson's empty dining room table.

"You and me, honey, are the youngest ones," Hutchinson said.
"That's OK," her new friend replied.

In April, Hutchinson met 27-year-old Janna Coppage at their sons' tee-ball game and bonded almost immediately over a Walk for Life T-shirt.

Hutchinson, 33, didn't know it at the time, but she had long ago become a source of inspiration for Coppage.

It didn't take long for Hutchinson to invite the young tee-ball mom to her monthly get-togethers. There, she could talk to other women like herself, the so-called Pink Ribbon Gals who meet every third Thursday to laugh, learn and bond over the one thing they have in common: breast cancer.

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Hutchinson began the support group in May.

She was diagnosed four years ago - at age 29 and with no family history - while she was 12 weeks pregnant with daughter Mia, now 4.

Even after doctors suggested terminating her pregnancy, Hutchinson underwent exhausting rounds of radiation and chemotherapy before and after Mia was born. She recalled her emotional experience for the first time in a Star-Exponent interview last October.

"I knew of the word 'breast cancer.' I knew what a mastectomy was, but I had no idea that could happen to me," she said then. "Why would I ever think I would get breast cancer in my 20s-"

The newspaper article appeared about the same time Coppage was diagnosed, and a copy of it stayed at her bedside through months of doctor appointments and chemotherapy treatments.

If this woman could do this pregnant, Coppage thought, then she could get through it too. When Coppage met Hutchinson months later, "She told me how much my story meant to her," Hutchinson recalled. "That's the whole reason I did it."

Shortly after Hutchinson learned she was cancer-free, one of the friends who supported her through her ordeal was diagnosed. At that point she knew her battle with cancer was far from over.

Hutchinson began a campaign to educate and mentor others on breast cancer, but other than sharing her story, she wasn't quite sure how.

Then one day her pastor suggested starting a support group.
"I'd never been to one - even going through it," Hutchinson said.

Not long after, doctors found two areas of suspicion in her breast during a routine MRI. During the unnerving wait for test results, a woman at church approached and embraced her.

"I didn't have to say a word," Hutchinson said. "She knew exactly what I was going through."

That's when it clicked.

"We as survivors have a bond like no other," she said from her dining room chair in a newly built house off of Dutch Hollow Road, just minutes before the ladies arrived.

She researched to see how many other breast cancer support groups were in the area. She found general cancer groups, but not a single one for strictly breast cancer.

"I can't personally go into a support group and relate to a man with prostate cancer," Hutchinson said.

She posted fliers around town for monthly "get-togethers" for women diagnosed with breast cancer. She envisioned creating a network of support. If someone in the group were in the middle of a scare, the group would issue prayers, cards and dinners.

Hutchinson intends to celebrate October - Breast Cancer Awareness Month - by honoring co-survivors - spouses, friends or loved ones who helped a Pink Ribbon Gal through her battle.

"This was a way that I could help other women. … I'm totally winging it," she said with a grin.

Seven women came to the first meeting in May and it lasted well into the night hours. The group maxed with 12.
"We'll talk about breast cancer, but then we'll talk about something else," Hutchinson said.

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A gaggle of older women breeze through the door and go straight for the new face - the young woman with a pink ribbon scarf on her head.

"When was your last treatment-" they ask, before learning her name.

"June 18," she answers.

"Radiation or chemotherapy-"

"Chemotherapy."
When the introductions end and the new face - Coppage - finishes briefing them on her recent battle with cancer, the ladies move to the kitchen where they load finger foods onto pink paperware.

One cracks a joke about her radiation treatment, and how she'll glow in the dark for Halloween.

"It's a sorority you don't want to join," Coppage says.

Katie Dolac can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 138 or

Upcoming awareness events

Now through Oct. 31: Culpeper County Regional Hospital is offering discounted screening mammograms this month. Call 829-8855 to schedule an appointment.

Now through Oct. 23: Buy a raffle ticket at Pepperberries, 102 N. Main St., for a chance to win a "Pretty in Pink" gift basket, Brighton jewelry or a complimentary 90-minute massage.

Tickets $2, or three for $5. Proceeds of the raffle benefit mammograms for the underprivileged. Raffle drawing occurs Oct. 23 at Powell Wellness Center.

Wednesday: Lecture, "Do you know your risk of breast cancer-" Fauquier Hospital, 7 p.m.; call 349-0588.

Thursday: Breast cancer support group honors survivors, 6 to 8 p.m., e-mail

Next Sunday: ACS Strides for Breast Cancer Walk, Byrd Park, Richmond; registration begins 12:30 p.m., walk begins 1:30 p.m.; call (804) 527-3766.

Oct. 23: Lecture, "Detecting and Preventing Breast Cancer" with Dr. Melissa Delgado, Powell Wellness Center, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Presentations begin 6 and 7 p.m. Call 829-4307 to register. Also, the Pepperberries/CRH "Pretty In Pink" raffle will be held.

For more information about breast cancer, visit Komen.org.