I am so excited and honored to be an emcee on Monday evening for K-Tech Kleening's Central Wisconsin Pink Ribbon Open.

K-Tech Charities hosts the Pink Ribbon Open every year to raise money to help women from Central Wisconsin facing financial hardships after breast cancer treatment. This money is meant to help these women and their families with their day to day living expenses not to pay their medical bills.

I am so honored to be a part of this event because in August last year my best friend found out she had stage 2 breast cancer. She was only 32 years old! She is the mother of 2 young sons, 5 and 2. She was working full time when she was diagnosed, but was unable to continue working her strenuous and often stressful job while she was going through treatments. She needed to undergo 12 weeks of chemo, a double mastectomy and had to have all her lymphnodes removed in her left arm and some removed from her right. Unfortunately they decided that even after all this she needed to have 6 weeks of radiation. Her disability checks and her husbands paychecks just weren't enough for them to be able to keep up with all their bills. During her chemo she was so sick she was unable to care for her 2 year old son while her husband was working so they were forced to continue to pay for daycare 2 to 3 days per week. They had 2 car payments so they gave up one car. They owned a home and with all the medical bills coming in and having to pay all the regular utility bills while also paying for the extra gas to travel between Wisconsin Rapids and Stevens Point for treatments they couldn't keep up with their mortgage and ended up losing their home of 11 years to the bank last month. She finished her last round of radiation 2 weeks ago and hopefully soon will be able to move ahead with her reconstructive surgery. They did find a nice house to rent so things are starting to look up a bit, but they are still neck deep in bills that they aren't sure they'll ever be able to catch up on. Even through all of this she has been a trooper. She has maintained a positive attitude and even though some days she felt like the fight was too hard for her to handle she made it through with a smile.

The finanical hardships these women face go far beyond the unbelievable medical bills. It's nice that K-Tech Charities understands that. They are happy to give these women money to help them and their families survive more than just the cancer.

On Monday big hearted people who may or may not know someone who has been effected by breast cancer take to the course at Wausau Country Club to help raise money to support the amazing work of K-Tech Charities. 

The recipients of the K-Tech Charities breast cancer grants will be at the banquet to follow the golf outing. These women are invited to the event, but they will be surprised to find out how much money they'll be given. The recipients will have a chance to share their stories and thank those who made it possible.

If you want to be part of the event contact K-Tech. If you're not a golfer you can purchase tickets for only the dinner to follow and support the event through silent auctions. 

You can also support the Pink Ribbon Open by purchasing a "Because We Care" breast cancer awareness pin. Each pin is $10 and all the proceeds go to helping find a cure for cancer. Help support local survivors and get yours today! Call Megan (715)355-1369 or email: marketing@k-techkleening.com. Pin picture at the top of this blog.