Representatives of two cancer support groups that got their start in Verona gathered in the center of town on Tuesday evening for a flag raising to mark breast cancer awareness month.
WINGS, which stands for for Women Inspiring Nurturing Giving Strength & Support, runs programs on the using the healing arts—music, art, movement, writing, and the like—to alleviate anxiety among women cancer patients before, during, and after treatment. On October 18, they will hold a session on nutrition, while their November 15 session will be about healing movement. All programs, which are held at the Verona Community Center, are free, but participants do need to register in advance.
The Minette’s Angels Foundation was created 20 years ago to honor a Verona resident and nurse who passed away after a 10-year battle against breast cancer. Ken McKenna, the widower of Minette Grosso McKenna, told those gathered for the flag raising about how the foundation has expanded over the last two decades. It continues to provide assistance to those in treatment and supports research, but it now offers three scholarships to nursing students and has expanded from Verona to serve patients across northern New Jersey. McKenna noted that the foundation has granted funds to Trinitas’ Comprehensive Cancer Center in Elizabeth to support the cost of wigs, lymphedema sleeves and gloves, mastectomy bras and prostheses. He stressed the importance of this assistance in a disadvantaged community where women too often have to choose between buying food and buying the medicine they need for their treatment.
Tonight, Wednesday, October 4, representatives of Minette’s Angels will be at Verona High School for the annual “Dig Pink” fundraiser held by the volleyball teams of Verona and Cedar Grove to benefit breast cancer research. The game begins at 7 p.m. On Thursday, October 19, from 6 to 8 p.m. the foundation will host “Real Panthers Wear Pink,” a benefit walk in Cedar Grove’s Panther Park.
