Paint the Town Pink co-ambassador Kelly Joseph told a crowd at The Hormel Institute Tuesday that she can be an example for how the work of cancer researchers pays off.

“I’m your hope. I am why you do research,” Joseph said.

Joseph and co-ambassador Darci Buchan helped The Institute and Austin Bruins kickoff Paint the Town Pink during the Austin Area Chamber of Commerce’s Business After Hours Tuesday. This year’s official sixth PTTP runs from Jan. 30 to Feb. 14, with the familiar pink flags and ribbons decorating the city along with numerous “pink” events raising money toward a goal of $200,000.

“One of the best things about Paint the Town Pink is how it brings the community together,” said Gail Dennison, The Institute’s director of development and public relations.

Sharing their stories

Joseph and Buchan, longtime friends, were each diagnosed with invasive lobular carcinoma around the same time.

For Joseph, her breast cancer didn’t show up on a mammogram. But after a double mastectomy and treatments, Joseph is cancer free.

She thanked people like Finley for bringing her husband a meal every Monday night during her treatments, and she also thanked her husband, her employer Austin High School and others for their support through her treatment.

After finishing chemo in January 2014, one of her first nights out was to the Paint the Rink Pink game. She even got a jersey to remember the game. This year, she plans to display ribbons on the jersey at the game to honor those she knows who have been lost to cancer or who are fighting cancer.

She also plans to plunge this year after getting approval from her doctor.

Unlike Joseph, Buchan’s cancer took a turn for the worse and her surgeon told her the cancer had spread to her bones before she was scheduled to have a double mastectomy. He told her they did not have a cure for this breast cancer and would have to treat the symptoms, the pain, and she takes a chemo pill to prevent the cancer from spreading more quickly.

Yet, she was hopeful for the future.

“Let’s keep raising the money so we can find that cure,” Buchan said.

She praised her family, friends and the other wonderful support she’s received. She said her employer Hormel Foods Corp. has been good to her, noting she works about four hours a day and then goes home to rest before returning to work later.

Joseph said she’s open to talking to anyone who has cancer or knows anyone with cancer, noting that her purpose after going through cancer is to help others and share about her experience.

Where does the money go?

Institute Associate Director Dr. Ann Bode thanked those attending for their support, as she outlined how PTTP funding is used.

Research, she told the audience, is expensive with the needs for equipment, supplies and technology, but The Institute has other expenses like lighting and heating bills.

Thanks to support from The Hormel Foundation, The Institute is able to dedicate all PTTP money directly to research.

The head of each research group applies for PTTP funds. If they receive funds, they have two years to try to build on the research and apply for a lager grant through the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Other projects have helped develop biomarkers to help tell if breast cancer treatments are effective. Institute scientists have also developed drugs and natural compounds to combat the various types of breast cancers.

“There’s all of these different types of breast cancer that we can focus on [and] target, and we’re able to do that because of your help,” she said.

Section leader Dr. Rebecca Morris has researched stem cells in cancer. Through PTTP funds, Morris and her team have applied the lessons learned studying skin cancer to breast cancer.

While she admitted it’s difficult to work in a new field, she’s appreciated the support and has applied for an NIH grant.

To Dennison, PTTP is an important symbol of support for researchers’ work.

“To step into a lobby like this, to drive around the community and know everybody who is doing that is behind you is so inspirational,” Dennison said.

“This support just is inspirational,” she added.