Millie Jones to Participate in 'Celebration of Survivorship'

Breast cancer survivors, family, friends and the community will come together on Oct. 17 for the annual Breast Cancer Celebration of Survivorship of the Adelphi NY Statewide Breast Cancer Hotline & Support Program.

The free event is open to the public and will be held at Adelphi’s University Center Ballroom in Garden City beginning at 6 p.m.

Six breast cancer survivors, including Millie Jones of East Meadow, will speak about their personal experiences with the disease and what sustained them and helped them to move forward:

• Matuschka of New York City is an artist, activist, author and Pulitzer Prize nominee whose ground breaking self-portrait, “Beauty Out of Damage,” appeared on the cover of The New York Times magazine showing her bare chest with one breast amputated. LIFE magazine included in it 100 Photographs That Changed the World.

• Robin Healy of Huntington, a retired special education teacher, serves as a volunteer with the Adelphi Breast Cancer Program.

• LaKesha Jackson of Amityville is the co-founder of the non-profit Pink SHOES (Strength, Hope, Optimism, Endurance, Survival) whose mission is to educate young women about breast cancer. She is a production coordinator in the fashion industry.

• Millie Jones of East Meadow is branch assistant manager at First National Bank of Long Island and chair of the board of the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce.

• Joseph and Frances Mercolino of Melville, married for more than 60 years, were both diagnosed with breast cancer - he in 2005 and she in 2006. They are supporters of the Dianne Mercolino Toan Endowment for Cancer Research, established in memory of their daughter. 

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Irene Virag, a garden writer and breast cancer survivor, will moderate the panel.

Reservations are required; call 516-877-4325. Anyone who is worried about breast cancer should call the hotline for help at 800-877-8077.