Being diagnosed with breast cancer could hardly be considered “lucky.”
But Tracy DeGraaf believes she was fortunate to have caught the disease when she did. Through her annual mammogram, her doctors were able to detect an abnormality that ended up being cancerous. The mass was found before it could be felt, which allowed treatment to start before the cancer had spread.
Her situation is proof of the power of mammograms.
“There were no symptoms. I felt great, there was nothing wrong with me. But it was there. Because I had the screening and they caught it early, my experience wasn’t as bad,” she said. “The earlier you can catch it, the better.”
DeGraaf, a Chicago-based comedian and breast cancer survivor, uses her situation to advocate for mammograms and the importance of early detection. She will headline an awareness-raising event, Tickled Pink, on June 23 at the Historic Artcraft Theatre in Franklin.
The event is organized by Franciscan Health Cancer Center, and will include a panel discussion by breast health experts as well as the ability to make a mammogram appointment that night.
“We try to do this event, and some others, just to make sure people understand that screenings save lives,” said Joan Himebrook, community outreach coordinator for Franciscan Health Cancer Center. “It sounds simple, but it’s so true. Getting a mammogram is the most effect tool you have to detecting breast cancer.”
This will be the second Tickled Pink event that Franciscan Health Cancer Center has put together on the southside, after hosting the event in 2019. The idea behind doing it was to put together an event
raising awareness about breast cancer infused with humor and levity.
This year, physicians and health care providers including breast surgeons, medical oncologists, genetic counselors and nurse navigators are attending to answer questions people might have about breast cancer. Special QR codes, once scanned with a smartphone, will send a message to Franciscan Health’s screening team to start the process of scheduling a mammogram.
“One of the things we know is that people put off screenings. Men are much worse, but women put them off too. We also know with the pandemic, many women were forced to put off breast screenings,” Himebrook said. “Sometimes, when you put off a screening, it’s hard to get back in that habit.”
DeGraaf’s story helps tie the entire theme together, Himebrook said.
Comedy was not something DeGraaf ever imagined she’d get into. She studied journalism in school, envisioning herself as a writer, and after graduating, she married her husband, Ron. They started their family, and had five children, all boys. Raising five boys didn’t give her much time for any kind of career, she said.
“I put my writing aspirations on the back-burner for about 20 years. I couldn’t write; I could barely talk. I was just surviving for quite a while in those real busy years,” she said.
But once her youngest child started kindergarten, DeGraaf found herself with a unfamiliar commodity — free time.
“I had seven hours in a row to think, and write. That’s when I started writing,” she said. “I was 40, I had this writing dream. I thought I was going to do fiction, but it turned out fiction is more hard than it looks. But a friend said my life was so weird and hilarious, why don’t I write it down? So I did.”
After compiling the stories of motherhood that would make up “Laugh Anyway Mom,” she hired a publishing coach to help her. The coach read the manuscript, and suggested DeGraaf try stand-up comedy, using the book’s stories as a one-woman show.
So DeGraaf signed up for a class at Second City, the Chicago-based comedy school. She started doing open mics around the city, slowly building the content of her show and fine-tuning the storytelling. Once she felt comfortable with it, she began performing it at churches and other family-friendly venues.
“It’s a clean show. The club scene is not my scene; I discovered that when I was doing open mics. Instead, I’d do my show at mom’s groups and ladies’ nights out,” she said.
DeGraaf’s comedy career seemed to be taking off. Breast cancer knocked the trajectory asunder.
She had come in for her mammogram, something that she faithfully scheduled each year once she turned 40. Her mother had died of bone cancer when DeGraaf was young, and wanted to be vigilant about the potential for the disease to strike her.
For 10 years, she got her screening and it came back clear. That changed when she turned 50. A concerning spot appeared on the mammogram, requiring a biopsy that revealed it to be cancer.
“It was a shock, as all cancer diagnoses are. You know that it can happen to you, but you don’t think that it will,” she said.
DeGraaf’s cancer had been caught at the earliest stage. Her survival rate was high from the start. To treat the disease, surgeons removed the cancerous tissue. She went through daily radiation therapy, and took a drug that moderated estrogen called Tamoxifen to prevent the cancer from returning.
“It wasn’t nothing, but it certainly wasn’t as bad as it would be if I wasn’t getting the screenings,” she said.
Now six years out of her diagnosis, DeGraaf has been able to implement her experience into her act.
“When I came back after breast cancer, I was really passionate about sharing the message of mammograms,” she said. “That’s what I’m coming to Franklin to do.”
Tickled Pink is free to the community, though people do need to register by June 17. Participants will receive swag bags, and have access to resources and information about breast cancer. Refreshments such as charcuterie from Main &Madison and wine from Mallow Run Winery will be available as well at no cost.
Attendees who use the QR codes to schedule a mammogram can present that proof to organizers after the program and receive a free Vera Bradley gift.
“We’ll have lots of fun things, hopefully encouraging women to stay on top of their breast health,” Himebrook said.
For DeGraaf, the opportunity to take part in such an important cause is exciting. While the show encompasses much of her comedy and family stories, she sets aside time at the end to illustrate how cancer impacted her — and how it affected everyone around her.
“I share some of my real story. I lost my mother when I was in my 20s, and it left a giant hole in my whole family. I look them right in the eye, and tell them, if they’re not here, it impacts so many people around them,” she said. “It was hard hearing that I had cancer, but it was so much harder to tell my husband and my five kids that mom has cancer.
“It’s not just something that’s important to you, but it’s important to every single person who loves you.”
IF YOU GO
Tickled Pink
What: A free event using comedy to raise awareness about breast cancer and screenings for the disease.
Who: Franciscan Health Cancer Center
When: 6 p.m. June 23
Where: Historic Artcraft Theatre, 57 N. Main St., Franklin
What is included: Participants will enjoy a presentation by Tracy DeGraaf, a comedian and breast cancer survivor. Franciscan Health physicians and providers will lead a panel on breast cancer, and people will have an opportunity to schedule a mammogram and receive a special gift. Refreshments and wine will be provided.
How to take part: The event is free, but registration is required by June 17. Register at historicartcrafttheatre.org/movie-and-events-schedule.
