It’s October, the month where we embrace and encourage all-things-Breast Cancer Awareness.
But when it comes to understanding who was at the forefront of the women’s health care and breast cancer movements, much is not known. I had no idea who to credit!
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Well, thanks to award-winning author Judith L. Pearson—a popular guest on The Women’s Eye Podcast (this is her third visit!)—her new biography Radical Sisters: Shirley Temple Black, Rose Kushner, Evelyn Lauder and the Dawn of the Breast Cancer Movement, sheds light on, in painstaking detail, the untold stories of three powerful breast cancer survivors who transformed how we discuss and diagnose this disease.
Pearson, a breast cancer survivor, fought her own personal battle in 2011, motivating her to create the non-profit A 2nd Act to celebrate women survivors of all cancers who were giving back to the greater good. She wrote her latest book “for the warriors and she-roes who courageously dedicated their lives to the battle against the beast.” The beast affects approximately 300,000 women every year.
“These three ladies, who never met but were probably aware of one another, their stories just flowed so beautifully. But the most important thing is that of the three of them (two of whom are very well known and very privileged; Rose was just ordinary like me), their first thoughts post-cancer were, ‘How can I help other women?’ And that was exactly where I started back 14 years ago after my own cancer.”
— Judith Pearson
These “radical sisters,” says Pearson, did for themselves what the mainstream healthcare system refused to do. They challenged the status quo, and ultimately “turned their diagnoses into a movement that has saved millions.”
In Pearson’s book, we learn that one-time child star Shirley Temple Black was the FIRST celebrity to talk about her breast cancer, with a press conference in her hospital room! Black famously said, “The doctor can make the incision, but I’m going to make the decision.”
Rose Kushner, the woman with “a stubborn streak and a loud voice,” reframed treatment and prevention protocols and changed healthcare legislation.
And Evelyn Lauder, who is responsible for the iconic pink ribbon (which almost was peach!), believed “one must leave the world a better place than you found it.”
For all these examples, Pearson believes this, her seventh book, is the most important one.
“It’s such an emotional thing—even though heart disease kills way more women than cancer does and more women die of lung cancer than breast cancer—breasts are the epitome and the symbol of womanhood and femininity and motherhood, and so an attack on breasts is an attack on all of those things.”
Pearson says you don’t have to be a fan of biographies, history or true stories to understand and enjoy her book.
“I really hope that the book serves as a mirror, that readers can see reflections of themselves and think, ‘Okay, so what would I do if I found myself in a similar position, or facing any kind of a life crisis, what would my next steps be?’
Maybe you’d go as big as Rose did, and testify before Congress, or, have a breast center named after you, like Evelyn. Maybe you would just do something simple, like Shirley did.”
Join me for a timely and relatable conversation with author Judith Pearson on this episode of The Women’s Eye podcast.
For more information about Judy and these “radical sisters,” particularly during October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, go to:
Website: judithlpearson.com
Book: Radical Sisters
Instagram: @judithpwrites
Some links in this post may be “affiliate links,” meaning TWE receives a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you use that link to make a purchase.
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