Bold Ladies in Business to host Pilates in the Park breast cancer awareness fundraiser

Palm Coast Observer
Neighbors

Alina Reyes Perry-Smith, co-founder of Bold Ladies in Business, celebrated 10 years cancer-free in 2023.

“People … don't realize, you know, how terrible cancer treatment can actually be,” she said.

Perry-Smith is one of four million breast cancer survivors in the United States, according to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. To support local women and men during national Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Bold Ladies in Business will be hosting a health wellness and awareness festival on Oct. 17 to raise money for the AdventHealth Palm Coast Foundation.

Perry-Smith said that as of Oct. 3, the Bold Ladies had raised around $2,500, "just by women donating to the cause and buying a booth."

“We're hoping to get to $3,000 before the end of the night (of Oct. 17) and give it all back to charity," she said.

The Pilates in the Park festival will take place from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Central Park at Town Center during the city’s Food Truck Tuesday event.

The festival will include raffles, networking opportunities, two exercise events — yoga and Pilates — and vendors focused on health and wellness,

People … they don't realize, you know, how terrible cancer treatment can actually be." — Alina Reyes Perry-Smith, Bold Ladies in Business and breast cancer survivor

October is national Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and breast cancer accounts for about a third of all cancer diagnoses in women. In 2023, an estimated 297,790 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, as will 2,800 men, according to the American Cancer Society’s website.

Around 43,700 women and men will die of breast cancer in 2023, according to the ACS.

Perry-Smith said the Bold Ladies plan an event each month to support a local charity.

“We're local, we wanted our charities to stay local,” she said. “[Local charities] do something because they live in the community and they saw a deficiency, they saw a need.”

Several women in the Bold Ladies are breast cancer survivors or have family members who have been diagnosed, Perry-Smith said. Courtney Akel, a Bold Ladies member since 2020, will be one of two breast cancer survivors sharing their stories at the festival.

The median age for receiving a breast cancer diagnosis is 62, according to the ACS, but Akel was 29 when she was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer in January 2017 after a lump formed on one of her breasts.

Akel said she was in peak health. Having cancer wasn’t something that had ever occurred to her before, she said.

“Literally, I was a division one athlete, and I was in the best shape of my life at 29 when I got diagnosed. I was so mad,” she said.

Over the next 10 months, Akel went through surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. In October 2017, she finished her treatments.

Courtney Akel in 2017 rings a bell to signal she has finished all of her cancer treatments. Photo courtesy of Courtney Akel

In 2020, after moving to Flagler County, Akel said, she joined the Bold Ladies, meeting several fellow survivors.

“It was just really nice finding a support system, like, kind of right when I got here,” she said.

Almost six years after her battle, Akel is in remission but still gets checked every year. And she encourages women in their 20s and 30s to check themselves and to be checked by doctors for breast cancer.

“I think if I would have given it like two more weeks, I could have been stage four and could not be here today,” Akel said.

For Akel, it took her five years after her treatments to really feel like herself again. Now, she has a 1-month-old son and is beginning a new chapter in her life.

Beach Barre Fitness owner Gayle Jaffe said that when dealing with a health crisis like cancer, it’s important for people to look at the whole picture of their health: nutrition, activity and mobility.

Jaffe has taught fitness in Palm Coast since 1986 and has several exercise and nutrition-related certifications, including as a certified cancer exercise specialist. She will be teaching the Pilates demonstration at the Bold Ladies’ festival.

People who go through cancer treatments may feel as though they’ll never be able to exercise again, Jaffe said, but that is not the case.

I think if I would have given it like two more weeks, I could have been stage four and could not be here today."
— Courtney Akel, breast cancer survivor

“They just have to learn how to exercise properly and know when to stop,” she said.

The key part of exercise for those going through or recovering from cancer treatments is to stay active and to retain mobility, she said. Pilates is perfect for that because it can be very easily modified to the individual’s needs.

“Pilates is just a wonderful way to do that without feeling like you've got to jump into a fitness class and keep up with everybody,” Jaffe said. “Pilates, you're in your own zone.”

Akel said she knows her story has already helped at least 20 young women get tested for breast cancer early, and she hopes more women will do so. People can learn about local resources to keep their health a priority at The Bold Ladies’ festival, she said.

“You’ve got to do early detection,” Akel said. “I always volunteer to share my story because if I help … women go get checked earlier than they would have been just from hearing my story, I’m making a difference.”