PRETTY IN PINK FOUNDATION
BY MELISSA WISTEHUFF
Three simple words instantly turn a person’s world upside down: You’ve got cancer.
Literally everything in life suddenly changes. A myriad of health worries come to mind—countless what-ifs and worst-case scenarios. Although money should be the last thing on the minds of those diagnosed, for patients with little or no health insurance, the toll of financial strain that comes with this diagnosis can be devastating. The economic burdens associated with cancer are substantial.
Breast cancer specialists are often the first to witness the stress that accompanies mounting health care bills. Dr. Lisa Tolnitch was the third female surgeon in the state of North Carolina when she began practicing in 1988.
She founded Tolnitch Surgical Associates in 1991—the first practice in the area focused exclusively on the treatment of breast disease. She has worked to bring the most effective and least invasive treatments of breast disease to the Triangle, and she was the first surgeon in the state to complete a lumpectomy. “Specializing in something allows you to focus on the details,” she explains. “I was the only female breast surgeon around. It gave me an opportunity to focus on breast cancer and devote my energies to helping as many women as possible.”
After aiding countless people as a surgeon, Dr. Tolnitch saw a need with many of her uninsured or under-insured patients, to alleviate the financial strain of continual treatments and missed work. The desire to help patients beyond the doctor’s office propelled Tolnitch to start the Pretty In Pink Foundation in 2004.
With a mission to offer financial assistance for quality, life-saving medical treatment, Pretty In Pink is a bridge for those who otherwise might decline critical medical advice. “I saw the need for creating Pretty In Pink when I had patients who had abnormal biopsies but did not seek further diagnosis because of [monetary] restraints,” Tolnitch says. “There are a lot of people right on the edge of financial ruin. One medical diagnosis can affect the trajectory of a person’s life, and seeing so many patients make decisions based on finances but not knowing how to help was frustrating,” she continues.
Now retired as a surgeon, Tolnitch’s legacy as a breast cancer patient advocate continues as she sees the number of “champions”—what Tolnitch calls the people helped through the Pretty In Pink Foundation—increase annually.
With the original goal of helping 10 breast cancer champions per year in Wake County, the foundation now assists over 500 from 98 counties in North Carolina.
Inasmuch as she helps to ensure that all breast cancer patients in North Carolina receive medical treatment regardless of their ability to pay, it is fitting that Tolnitch was the 2017 recipient of the Humanism in Medicine Award, which is presented annually by the American Society of Breast Surgeons and the Arnold P. Gold Foundation. Tolnitch embodies the oath doctors take when they promise to put patients first, taking great care to guide her champions to the finish line.
HOW TO PARTNER WITH THE PRETTY IN PINK FOUNDATION
Pretty In Pink relies solely on donations, fundraisers and volunteers. Their signature fundraising event for the Triangle area, the Pink Pumps & Bow Ties Gala, is coming up on October 19 at The Pavilion at the Angus Barn in Raleigh. Tickets can be purchased on the organization’s website.
The Pretty In Pink Foundation loves volunteers! Their Beyond the Ribbon program offers resources to breast cancer champions as they go through their treatment journeys. If you like to sew, you can make items for the care bags the organization distributes, such as seat belt pillows, drain bags, pillowcases and eye bags.
For more information on the Pretty In Pink Foundation and ways to volunteer, go to prettyinpinkfoundation.org.
