Bosom Buddies Offers Support of Breast Cancer Patients and Survivors
Alma Starnes, left, Pam Murph, and Bonnie Vinyard talk during a recent Bosom Buddies support group meeting at Thompson Cancer Survival Center
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 onnie Vinyard recently celebrated her fifth anniversary of being cancer-free, and she gives a lot of the credit to Bosom Buddies.
 A support group of women who have had breast cancer, Bosom Buddies meets once a month at the Thompson Cancer Survival Center.
"It's such a helpful thing; it's hard to put it into words. We have experienced so many things together," said Vinyard, a former volunteer at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center who gave 5,000 hours of her own time over 30 years.
Group members range from nurses to retirees. Pam Murph, licensed clinical social worker and Bosom Buddies facilitator, said some have marked 20 years of life without cancer, while others have just learned their diagnosis.
"It's wonderful when someone comes in and says, 'I made it past my five-year mark,'" she said.
Vinyard who achieved that landmark in March, had a lumpectomey, mastectomy, and lymph nodes removed in 1994, the same year her husband died. Her daughter lives in Washington, D.C., "so I don't have anyone here," she said.
That's why Bosom Buddies played such a critical role in her recovery. As Murph noted, research shows that patients who have support fare better than those who don't.
Group members share and find themselves uplifted. As Vinyard put it, "We don't cry on each other's shoulders, but we're there for each other."
In addition to providing the chance to talk with fellow survivors, Bosom Buddies presents speakers on topics from mastectomy bras to the latest cancer treatments. Murph call it a "psychoeducational group."
"We are blessed to have it," Vinyard says.
"I'm not bragging, but I'm a go-getter. You cannot just give up or think this is the end. It really is a matter of mind over situation."
Bosom Buddies meets from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. the first Wednesday of each month in the Jim Haslam Board Room of the Thompson Cancer Survival Center. Lunch is provided. Call the center's Patient and Family Services office, 541-1757 for more information.
Covenant Health offers other support groups at different locations:
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