About Us

Mission Statement  

                                   " Helping Women in Mexico survive breast cancer with comfort and dignity"

History of Cancer de Mama

             Project founder Jackie Jackson, from Enderby BC,a breast cancer survivor herself,

says, “ I was fortunate that we could afford to purchase prostheses so that my emotional

healing could begin right away. I was horrified to learn that there was very limited help for

Mexican women. I decided I would seek donations from home and bring the supplies to the

women in the Nayarit area."

That first year, 1996, Jackie gave away 28 prostheses from her winter home.

              Word of the project spread, and local doctors and medical clinic were contacted.

             Jackie also enlisted the help of her Canadian contacts in the medical community.

             This last year, over 324 women were fitted with the help of 2 certified post-mastectomy

fitters from Nightingale Medical Supplies in Vernon BC and many willing volunteers from the La Penita RV Park.

 The club house at the La Penita RV Park was transformed into a clinic with eight private cubicles, decorated to help the women feel comfortable and safe. 

 Language and cultural barriers disappear as women reached out to each other with heartfelt caring and concern for the ordeal they have faced.  These women came in buses, by van, or on foot.  The mood is somber as they enter La Penita RV Park.  They come from all over the State of Nayarit, many bearing signs of recent chemotherapy, all seeking a chance to regain their femininity and self esteem . This is accomplished through the generous efforts of many volunteers (Mexicans, Americans, and Canadians who make Nayarit their home for the winter season.

One volunteer sums up the gift that the volunteers receive in return for their long hours: “We all arrive as strangers but each woman leaves as a friend.”

These women, breast cancer survivors, leave the free clinic with tears and shy smiles after being fitted with prostheses and brassieres that restore their appearance and dignity. 

Pictures:

A moment together

 at our last clinic

Future goals and wishes of this clinic

 Prevention & Education