Portion of world’s longest pink scarf honoring Breast Cancer Awareness Month at CAMC Cancer Center

10/14/2024

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia native who lost her battle with breast cancer 14 years ago is passing on her legacy of hope through a pink scarf.

It’s the world’s longest knitted pink scarf in fact, and part of it is now on display at the Charleston Area Medical Center’s Cancer Center as a symbol of breast cancer awareness.

Terri Lynne Massey of Oak Hill lost her four-year battle with breast cancer in 2010 at the age of 39. Her family joined breast cancer survivors and employees of the CAMC Breast Center for a ceremony Monday honoring the scarf and the work being done that is continuing to support breast cancer patients and their families.

Anthony Treadway is an employee of West Virginia American Water who has partnered with CAMC Foundation to create an endowment fund for breast cancer patients. He is also Terri Massey’s brother.

Treadway said the pink scarf, which was first created by people from the Fayette County community following his sister’s passing back in 2010, marks a reflection of hope Terri instilled.

“We have been on this journey now for almost 15 years, carrying the mantra she gave us before she passed away when she said, ‘someday, something good will come of this,’ and we never let go of that,” Treadway said.

What started at just 20 feet long, Treadway said the scarf now reaches over 10,000 feet when it’s all put together.

He said throughout the years since it was first created, they have received contributions of the scarf from breast cancer survivors and family members honoring those who have passed away from breast cancer from across all 50 states as well Canada and Mexico.

Treadway said the scarf just continued to grow and grow.

“I remember one time we were saying oh wow, it’s going to be long enough you can hang it off the New River Gorge Bridge and it would touch the water, that ship has sailed, we’re now over 2 miles long, but you know, it’s really not about the length of it, it’s about the number of lives it has touched,” he said.

The endowment fund WV American Water came together with CAMC Foundation to create last year gives CAMC Cancer Center patients and their families fuel card money for travel expenses to and from the cancer center. So far, the endowment fund has raised over $28,000 to support patients.

In addition, WV American Water has partnered with Terri’s Tribute, a scholarship fund started for children who have lost parents to breast cancer.

Missy Bohan has been working with patients in CAMC’s Breast Center for over the past 18 years.

Bohan deals with patients everyday with new diagnoses, keeps track of the latest research, and helps people get through the most challenging times of their lives.

However, she said suddenly, last year, the role she played at the center was dramatically reversed.

“Up until last year, I never really knew the patient experience until I was diagnosed myself in January 2023,” Bohan said.

She said her own breast cancer diagnosis gave her a whole different perspective on looking at and treating the disease.

“As a patient, you see things in a different way than you see from the medical side, and I hope and pray that it helps me give people a better outlook or helps them maybe get through the situation a little bit easier,” she said.

Bohan said 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lives.

She said breast cancer is not preventable, but if caught early enough, it can be cured. That’s why she encourages everyone to get their mammograms on a yearly basis starting at age 40.

Bohan said the scarf now hanging in the lobby of the cancer center during Breast Cancer Awareness Month is not only a symbol of hope, but a reminder of how important getting your regularly-scheduled mammogram is in fighting the battle.

“I hope that it offers encouragement to others to do their screenings, because if there’s something there that we can find early enough then we can fix it,” said Bohan.

The portion of the scarf at CAMC Cancer Center is only about 500 feet long, but Treadway said it’s also on display this year at a few different places in Oak Hill, where he and his sister Terri are from, and some of it is also on display in the lobby of WV American Water.

The scarf had originally been displayed at the Tamarack in Beckley, helping it gain global attention and sparking the motivation for people from all over to contribute to it.

In recent years, portions of the scarf have been repurposed into lap blankets, 28 pieces of which being donated to patients at the cancer center.

Treadway said it’s astounding and hopeful to see the impact Terri’s legacy has created through the pink scarf.

“I’ll tell you what it does, it teaches a little bit about humanity,” Treadway said. “When you see the numbers of folks who actually stop what they’re doing and say I want to contribute for a person who I’ve never met, never seen, because I know what I’ve been through may someday be able to be a beacon of hope for others.”