Tennis club serves up pink day to fight breast cancer
PINK dresses, pink wigs and pink bras flooded the Tweed Heads Tennis Club today.
The Tweed District Tuesday Ladies raised crucial funds for Tweed Hospital's chemotherapy ward at their very pink event.
Almost all of the club members turned out in pink including breast cancer survivor Virginia Tindale.
About 17 years ago Mrs Tindale got the devastating news the doctors had found a lump in her left breast.
It was benign, but it was still removed and she was sent to have radiation therapy.
Just 12 months later during a mammogram the experts located a 2.5cm mass in her right breast.
Her right breast was removed.
"It was really hard," she said.
"It really threw me."
But she and her husband continued on, even after the chemotherapy that made her lose all of her hair.
Sadly, the worst was yet to come.
Ten years later at her regular 12 month breast screening she was told she had a grade three and a grade two tumour in her left breast, it was promptly removed.
"I was cheesed off," she said.
"I felt cheated, that's a word you could say for it.
"Even the doctors shook their head, we'd done everything right."
Mrs Tindale was also put on cancer medication after both operations and chemotherapy.
She again lost her hair, now two years later it is growing back slowly.
"I don't let anyone cut it," she said.
A brave Mrs Tindale said without being active in her tennis, positive thinking and exceptional medical care she would not be here today to tell her story.
"You must be positive," she said.
The club aimed to raise $2000 and were well on track at 11am with $1500 already in the kitty.
Club member Ruth Coram said it was a great turn out and she was looking forward to the club putting it on again next year.
"The great prizes were only possible because of the local business," she said.
"They really put their all in and we would not have been able to do this with out them."
