Warrenville woman to walk the red carpet
When Donna Pelletier jets from Warrenville to New York City today for a TV movie premier, the guest she's most excited to meet on the red carpet isn't a celebrity.
It's Dr. Dennis Slamon of UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Slamon lead clinical research essential in developing the breast cancer drug Herceptin, a prescription Pelletier has taken since she was diagnosed with the disease three years ago.
Lifetime cable network filmed "Living Proof," starring Harry Connick Jr., which focuses on Slamon's achievement. The film will be aired on Oct. 18.
"The exciting part, truthfully, is I get to meet the man who was a pioneer in the Herceptin revolution," Pelletier said of attending the premiere of the movie. "This man basically could be saving my life."
Pelletier, a Stage 4 breast cancer patient, earned an invite to the premiere from Margaret Kirk, CEO of Breast Cancer Network of Strength, formally known as Y-Me. Pelletier got involved with the organization as a volunteer and eventually left her job with a large corporation as a relations manager to work for the group full-time.
She now is in charge of quality assurance for Network of Strength's 24-hour hotline.
"My journey has really taken me to interesting places," Pelletier said. "When you get news as devastating as this, you try to evaluate things and what's important. So I went from a profit world to a nonprofit world, and now I'm going to the red carpet."
Pelletier said her new career helps her get through tough times as she still battles what she calls the "emotional roller coaster" of cancer. She said the hotline especially helps women with the disease know they are not alone and have support.
"I had the wonderful support of my family and friends, and I could not imagine someone going through what I was going through without that," she said.
To contact Breast Cancer Network of Strength's 24-hour support hotline, call (800) 221-2141.
For more details on the organization, or the group's first survivorship conference happening Nov. 6-8 at the Hilton in Chicago, visit networkofstrength.org.