My mom, an Oklahoma native, was a cowgirl at heart.  She believed in “putting on your brave girl boots” and pushing through.  So, as you can probably imagine, I was very excited about this years Dress for a Cure Fashion Show theme of Give Cancer the Boot.

This event was created to honor my mom as she battled ovarian cancer.  Dress for a Cure became even nearer and dearer to my heart when I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011, and my mother and I faced our health challenges together.

Recently, I have learned of an organization called FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered), a nonprofit group that fights hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. Their focus is a good ‘fit’ with our personal experience of cancer and I wanted to support them. Truly, my mom was the force inside me.  First she encouraged me to be proactive with genetic testing in 2001 which showed that I was BRCA1 positive. Then when I was diagnosed in 2011 she helped me to give cancer the boot!

My mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer over 13 years ago and passed away on April 3, 2013. Dress for a Cure is a way for me to remember our journey, and to educate others while having fashion fun. This event embodies so much of what my mom represents….the heart, bravery, and “cowgirl” spirit to stay alive during difficult times and to plan ahead.

This year was my 4th annual Dress for a Cure Fashion Show.  I am excited to report that the event tripled in size this year and we raised over $1,000 for FORCE.  This is an event that my mother and I saw as an opportunity to get the word out for a great cause. Thanks to my friends at Aspire Women’s Clothing Boutique and Whidden Hill who helped host the event.  Aspire provided the clothing worn by our beautiful models (as they have the past three years) and for the first time this year Whidden Hill helped us give cancer the boot by providing the models with western boots to compliment their outfits.

Speaking of boots, I wear my cowgirl boots all the time as I too, am a cowgirl at heart. Wearing my western boots reminds me to be brave, to push through and to help others give cancer the boot!

Today’s author: Kelye Rouse Brown is an executive coach, conference speaker, HR expert, and seminar leader on employee and management training. Through her company, KRB Customized Training Solutions, she specializes in communications and leadership, career coaching, and result driven solutions for hospitality, healthcare and service oriented clients. You can reach Kelye at [email protected] or visit her website www.krbcustomizedtrainingsolutions.com

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