Pink Is Not Just For Girls

“Tuff men wear pink”, said Terry Arnold, Executive Director of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, as she addressed almost 400 Bassmaster Weekend Series anglers from the South Central division. Arnold was a surprise guest at the opening dinner for the Regional Championship that was  held in Texarkana, TX, Oct. 11-13. 

Her opening statement stemmed from the sea of anglers who had donned pink to show support for their tournament crew member, Denise Trimble, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in the spring of this year. Trimble sat speechless as tears streamed down her face, overwhelmed by the love and kindness these anglers had shown her and her husband, Porter Trimble, the South Central Tournament Manager. “Faith, hope, and courage will carry you through your journey as you dig deep to find your inner strength”, said Arnold addressing Trimble. “I know you’re a strong woman, and with all these people supporting you, you will beat this”, she said. 

Royal Purple is a “Tour Level” sponsor of the Bassmaster Weekend Series and both Denise and her husband, Porter, have promoted those products at each of their events for the past six years.  

During a routine mammogram, it was discovered that Denise had a mast in one of her breast. The tumor was small and undetectable with self examinations. After consulting with her doctor she elected to have a lumpectomy vs. a mastectomy and pathology would determine the next steps. The surgeon removed the mast (which actually turned out to be three masts) and four lymph nodes for pathology. The report showed one of the lymph nodes to have cancer cells and it was determined that is was the ‘HER II’ form of breast cancer, which is a very aggressive type. The course of action was then determined to be chemotherapy followed by radiation. During all of this entire process, Denise, being the strong person she is, remained optimistic and gathered as much information as she could, concerning her condition and treatment. 

Denise began her chemotherapy treatments which would last for five months-- with the first eight weeks being the toughest, both physically, and mentally. During all of this, she insisted on continuing to work as a paralegal during the week, and traveling with the South Central Region Bassmaster Weekend Series crew on weekends - only missing one event which, in fact, was the only event she’s missed in six years. The fishermen in the South Central Region continually check on her and give her well wishes and prayers, which is an inspiration for Denise, and gives her the motivation to continue on with a positive attitude. She has said many times that the positive attitude she has comes from the support of her friends and family.

As she completes her chemo and looks to the next phase, Denise became involved with the Susan G. Komen Foundation and formed a team named that was featured in the Komen weekly newsletter because of the success of the team’s local campaign raising awareness and funds. She is an inspiration to all, and continues to be an advocate for other women to get routine mammograms, knowing that early detection is the key.

"I believe that everything happens for a reason and never once have I questioned 'why me,'" said Trimble. "I’ve also been heard saying that there is a blessing in all of this, and blessings have flowed my way from the very beginning.  Such as the evening of our Bassmaster Weekend Series Regional Championship registration in Texarkana, TX, when I was embraced with enormous love, support and encouragement from our anglers (which I refer to as my extended family) with the “Team Denise” campaign. The support by our anglers has been there from the beginning. For example, at one of our events all the anglers wore pink bracelets, and at another event a couple of anglers donated rods for auction (with proceeds going to the Komen Foundation in my honor), and there have been many other gestures of love and kindness from them. Then, there’s been the outpouring of support for our Susan G. Komen team (named “Cenla’s Breast Friends for the Cure”)  in which our team has maintained from the onset, the highest amount of donations and team members. for an individually run team in my community. There have been special bonds and friendships formed, not only for me personally, but also for my loved ones. It’s not just my life that has changed forever, but also the lives of so many around me through love and compassion", she continued.  

 

"In all I have learned and taken the position that there a few survival “must haves” for which the primary is support," she said. "The support, love and compassion has provided me with such great fuel, strength and energy to fight this disease. This has come from family, friends, my employers and co-workers, support groups and even the medical staff that I frequently visit. Falling behind that, is faith in our Lord and a positive attitude (which also stems from the love and support of family and friends), and while there have been a couple of “episodes” of sadness (brought on as one of the side effects of chemotherapy), I quickly snapped out of them by reminding myself just how blessed I am and that such sadness just simply hurts too much  … both emotionally and physically.  And the third “must have” is keeping active.  I thank God that I am able to continue to work am able to maintain (albeit low) some form of activity. Those couple of episodes of sadness resulted in me being house-bound for several days, which in turn made the physical side effects of the chemo ten-fold painful. Too bad it took the second episode before I discovered this, otherwise there would not have been a second episode. Maintaining some sort of physical activity is crucial, both physically and emotional", said Trimble.    

"We have made enormous leaps forward in the fight against breast cancer, but it remains to be the number one cause of death of women for cancer, and there must be more done. Until just a few years ago, women with HER2 breast cancer (the form of cancer I have which represents approximately 15-20% of breast cancers), women simply did not survive it.  But through research, a drug was developed and approved by the FDA a few years ago, called Herceptin, that is now extending the lives of us with HER2 breast cancer. And, while it’s not a cure, women are living longer because of the drug. I hope and pray, and have faith that someday it will happen, that with appropriate funding and through research, there will be a cure for breast cancer and all other forms of cancer. For the time being, I remain blessed, embrace life to the fullest, and I am a survivor", said Trimble with a resounding voice.   

Royal Purple Ladies would like to thank Denise Trimble and Debra Talley for sharing Denise's story. We wish her strength and healing as she continues her journey.