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Mollie Fein
My name is Mollie Fein and I am 59 years old. My initial breast cancer diagnosis was in the fall
of 2003. The diagnosis was followed by a year of treatment that ranged from surgery to radiation to
chemotherapy to more surgery. The year itself is foggy in my chemo addled brain, but one thing is clear,
Hopewell Cancer Support, one of the designated recipients of this year’s Steps to the Cure event, played
a powerful role in my recovery. Hopewell is a community for all people with cancer, their families and
their friends that provide support, cancer information and HOPE for the future. For me, the Tuesday
night support group became my cancer ‘home’ for the next four years; I participated in the yoga,
meditation workshops and the ‘Project Ten’ photography exhibit. In 2009 I declared myself a ‘graduate’
from the support group and sought to give back to Hopewell and the wider Breast Cancer network of
survivors. Today, I am fortunate to be a Hopewell volunteer and member of the Hopewell ‘Participants
Group’ that assists Hopewell with ideas and good energy initiatives. My life continues, and as the
Manager of the Cockeysville and Hereford Libraries in Baltimore County, I find many ways to be a part of
the community.
Recently, when Carol from Hopewell called and asked if I would consider being a model at
the ‘Steps to a Cure’ fundraising event, I was stunned. I laughed. I snorted. I guffawed. "Carol", I said, "If
you haven’t noticed, I am a 59 year old ‘woman of substance’ without fashion experience and shoes and
purses that never match. "Oh no" said Carol, "we want someone who cares about Hopewell and has a
sense of humor". Ah well, I am good for both of those and I am honored to be part of the show.
Finally, I have been thinking about ‘Happy Endings’. Since my cancer diagnosis I have thought
about what I call, ‘The Happy Ending Story’. You see the story everywhere. The most common version
is the one where you get a life threatening disease- Breast Cancer let’s say- and you suffer, but in the
end you grow and become a better person because of it. In my ‘Happy Ending Story’ you transform and
attain a deeper understanding of life. My concern is this- "That having been given this powerful insight
that life is so short-so fragile- so beautiful, and that even with this powerful ‘knowing’, it is somehow not
enough and I don’t take the opportunity to do everything that I possibly can to LIVE AND TO LOVE. That
is it- that is everything."
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