Co-founder of The Breasties recognized for her activism for and support of breast cancer survivors
Tannersville, Pa. (May 4, 2018) – Earlier this year, Camelback Resort partnered with Paige More, co-founder of The Breasties and former Emmy award-winning “Good Morning America” producer, to host twenty breast cancer survivors and previvors for a wellness retreat weekend. Last week, More was honored on-air as part of QVC’s annual Brave is Beautiful campaign for her role in creating both an online and offline support community for women affected by cancer and their loved ones.
The Breasties is a nonprofit organization that seeks to support women affected by breast and ovarian cancer through community and friendship.
“The Breasties started as a way to give women who have been affected by cancer the hope that they could become warriors, not worriers,” said More. “The beautiful community that emerged online led us to organize in-person meet-ups, free events and weekend wellness retreats, where women from around the world have an opportunity to come together and focus on self-love, community, and body positivity with people who truly ‘get it.’”
At age 22, More discovered she was a carrier for mutated BRCA 1 genes, which meant that she was highly likely to develop breast or ovarian cancer during her lifetime. In January 2017, More underwent a preventative double mastectomy (PDM) and documented the process on social media, reaching more than 20,000 people. More’s story touched other women affected by cancer, including survivors and previvors, individuals who are survivors of a predisposition to cancer but who haven’t had the disease. Those women included breast cancer survivors Leslie Almiron and Allie Brudner, as well as Bri Majsiak, who lost her mother to breast cancer. Together, More, Almiron, Brudner and Majsiak founded The Breasties in 2017.
On January 27, 2018, The Breasties gathered at Camelback to “conquer the mountain.” For some of the women at the retreat, tubing, skiing and snowboarding at Camelback Mountain was the first strenuous activity they had engaged in following their diagnosis. Camelback offered private lessons and the journey to the top of the mountain was both literal and figurative for the group of young, strong women.
“After your body has been through so much, you feel kind of betrayed,” said Almiron. “To see that same body that went through chemo, that went through radiation, through surgery, be able to go up the mountain and snowboard down. Even if I fell down, it showed me that my body can do so much more than just get sick and that’s priceless.”
The Breasties provides an online and in-person support community for women who have developed or are at risk for developing cancer and those that care for them. The all-inclusive organization also hosts day events and weekend wellness retreats, such as the one hosted at Camelback Resort.
“It just felt like I was the only young woman in the world to be facing this,” said Brudner. “Connecting with The Breasties has been life changing.”
“It was an honor to host The Breasties’ winter wellness retreat,” said Ame Cameron, VP of Sales & Marketing at Camelback Resort. “These women have conquered many mountains throughout their fight with cancer and Camelback provided a venue for them to tackle one together.”
The women also kicked off their weekend-long wellness retreat with Camelback’s after dark Galactic LED snowtubing experience. Following their mountain excursion, The Breasties celebrated with complimentary dinner, dancing and drinks at one of Camelback’s on-site eateries. View a recap of The Breasties experience at Camelback Resort here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz64x2ioJ4c
Camelback Resort recently launched its Camelback Gives Back program to celebrate groups such as The Breasties— and the individuals who compose them — that have faced unimaginable challenges.
For more information about Camelback Gives Back, visit www.camelbackresort.com/adventures/camelback-gives-back.
About Camelback Resort
Camelback Resort continues to reinvent itself since opening in 1963 with 14 trails and three lifts serving 41,656 skiers. Today, Camelback serves more than 1.7 million outdoor enthusiasts and visitors annually with 37 trails, 16 lifts, 100 percent snowmaking, the largest snowtubing park in the U.S. with an out-of-this-world “Galactic” light experience, Camelback Mountain Adventures (featuring the only mountain coaster in Pennsylvania and North America’s longest twin 4,000-foot Zip-Flyers), Camelbeach Waterpark (the largest waterpark in Pennsylvania) and Camelback Lodge & Aquatopia Indoor Waterpark. For more information, www.camelbackresort.com.
