Canadian Raises Breast Health Awareness With Pink Bra Spring

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s a bra! For the uninitiated, the sight of bras floating in the sky might seem oddly delightful — just another day in Paris. For others, it’s an opportunity to come together in love and support for breast health and women with breast cancer.

Bonjour. My name is Kate Kemp-Griffin, a Canadian in Paris and the Founder and President of Pink Bra Bazaar, a charitable organisation dedicated to breast health and supporting women with breast cancer. I hope you and other Inspirelles will join us (and your friends!) for Pink Bra Spring on Sunday, April 3 at 3:00PM on Esplanade du Trocadéro.

Pink Bra Bazaar’s ambassador and artist extraordinaire, Julia Palombe, will perform “I Love My Boobs — J’aime mes seins “, an ode to breast health, with sensual, teasing, and amusing choreography accompanied by a troupe of burlesque dancers. For the finale, everyone is invited to join the dancers, participate in our signature Pink Bra Toss, and revel in the flight and fancy of hundreds of bras in the air. If you have a bra, bring it and toss it! If not, we will provide one for you to toss. Join us at this free event and bring a friend(s) for this unique celebration.

You may be wondering what else Pink Bra Bazaar does, other than toss bras into the sky every year. We collect them in October during our Pink Bra Box campaign for breast health awareness; and we decorate them all year round in our Pink Bra Workshops, which are creative moments to learn how to stay healthy and reduce the risk of breast cancer. As you can tell, we are obsessed about bras and breast health.

Why?

The beauty, elegance, and quiet support of the bra has the unique ability to unite women — and everyone is touched by breast cancer. Mothers, wives, daughters, sisters, aunts, and friends will be diagnosed every year. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes early detection and timely treatment as primary factors to improving mortality rates, yet breast cancer remains a taboo subject. Fear blocks women from taking preventive measures; and loss of self-confidence arises from the stigma and feelings of isolation for those diagnosed with breast cancer.

Pink Bra Bazaar puts the bra in the center of our highly visible awareness programs, which educate and empower women to play an active role in their own breast health. Through our work, we endeavor to make the bra a symbol of lifelong breast health, reminding women daily to make the right decisions for themselves and their loved ones.

The bra is the perfect link between femininity and breast health — something I discovered several years ago after a routine mammogram discovered early stage breast cancer. With more than 20 years of experience in the lingerie industry, I found myself in a unique position to help break down barriers, encourage dialogue, and collaborate with the medical community to deliver a strong health message and relay essential information in a fun and engaging way.

I founded Pink Bra Bazaar in 2010. Through Pink Bra Bazaar, I hold tightly to the memory and love of two exceptional women: My birth mother, Lynn, who when diagnosed with breast cancer urged me to get a mammogram that revealed early stage breast cancer and whose own cancer would tragically claim her life.

My adoptive mother, Heather, whose unconditional love and exceptional sewing skills produced spectacular wardrobes over the years, including my wedding dress and painstakingly small clothes for my daughter when she was born prematurely. Both women are gone now and the void they left has been filled by the love of my sister and half-sisters.

Two mothers, four sisters … and now, countless women whose lives intertwine. My story joins that of the many women whom I have met through Pink Bra Bazaar with their own tales of love, loss and gratitude. It’s truly remarkable to see how such a small piece of clothing can shape how we see ourselves and each other. We find meaning through color, design and texture, and enjoy powerful moments of expression. The strength and beauty of Pink Bra Bazaar is the pink thread of love, support, and creativity that joins us all. I hope you will take a minute to visit our website : www.pinkbrabazaar.org and join us on Facebook. Pink kisses,

Kate