When breast cancer runs in your family, the thought that’s always in the back of your mind is “not if, but when.”
So, when RueAnn Gallagher’s sister was diagnosed with the disease in 2011—while their mother was battling it for the third time—she scheduled a mammogram right away, not realizing how long it had been since her last one.
The mammogram showed that Gallagher’s “when” had become “now.” “But I was blessed,” said Gallagher, who is a safety and technical training compliance supervisor at Montana-Dakota Utilities in Bismarck, North Dakota. “My cancer was in the first and earliest stage.”
The diagnosis meant a double mastectomy and five years of Tamoxifen, but no chemotherapy or radiation. Not to say that it was easy. Three days after her major surgery, Gallagher was still in pain and couldn’t even shower—on top of adjusting to her new body.
“I felt so not myself,” she said. She scheduled a salon visit and walked out “feeling 1,000 times better.”
That small moment would turn into Pink It Forward, a nonprofit launched by Gallagher, her sister and two cousins in 2012 to give other women with cancer small moments of grace through special kits.
Each kit contains a soft blanket, a hot/cold pack and a journal. Perhaps most important of all is the note given to each woman: “We tell them, ‘You’re not alone,’” said Gallagher. “‘We are here, and we’ve been through what you’ve gone through. If you want to talk, we’re here for you. Know that we’re thinking of you, and we hope this package puts a smile on your face for a little while.’”
Originally, Pink It Forward focused solely on women in North Dakota and surrounding regions. But word spread—today, the nonprofit receives requests for kits from women across the United States.
Among other supporters, the MDU Resources Foundation, of which Montana-Dakota is a member company, has given more than $6,000 to help fund the kit distribution—ongoing blessings that are helping the nonprofit fulfill its mission. “You’ve heard of pay it forward,” said Gallagher. “But we’re calling it ‘pink it forward.’”