Pascale Hapgood was still three months away from her annual mammogram when she discovered a lump in her breast in March 2023. “My mother died of breast cancer; I knew it wasn’t good,” she says.
A biopsy revealed cancer, and a month later, Pascale had a lumpectomy. That was followed by three weeks of anxious waiting, as doctors studied her tumor to design a treatment plan. The news was good: she had caught it early enough that she would need radiation, but not chemotherapy.
“Now I tell everyone—mammograms are essential, but self-checks at home are essential too,” says Pascale.
Pascale continued her work as a French professor at the University of Virginia during her radiation treatments at Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital. She is incredibly grateful for the skillful care of her team, as well as the therapeutic massage that helped her manage the fatigue, anxiety, and soreness caused by the treatments.
This fall, Pascale celebrated her renewed vitality by helping The Women’s Committee fight breast cancer through In the Pink Tennis & Pickleball, which this year raised more than $40,000 for massage therapy and a range of prevention, treatment, and survivorship services to help women fighting breast cancer.
A passionate tennis player, Pascale has supported In the Pink for more than a decade, first in honor of her mom, and now for more personal reasons. She has also played a leadership role with The Women’s Committee’s Breast Health Screening Days, which this year provided free mammograms and cancer screenings to 200 women in the community.
We are truly grateful to Pascale for giving back, and to our community of supporters, for giving so generously to ensure that patients like Pascale never walk alone through their cancer journey.
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