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Tamara Bumpus Says Tah Tah to the Ta Ta’s
By Fletcher Word
Sojourner’s Truth Editor
“I’m lucky,” said Tamara
Bumpus. “I made sure I got my mammogram.”
By “lucky” Bumpus means
that her breast cancer was discovered at an early stage.
Early enough that she has options moving forward.
Bumpus, a family nurse
practitioner by trade with a long history of breast cancer
in her family, was recently diagnosed and made the decision
to have her breasts removed rather than submit to a
prolonged period of treatment with no guarantee of ultimate
success.
On September 24, the
Bumpus family commemorated the decision by hosting a
gathering for family and friends – the Tamara Boob Voyage –
“Tah Tah to the Ta Ta’s.”
The party, which featured
a live band in the Bumpus backyard, was more than just an
occasion to feast on barbecued goodies and listen to tunes.
The Boob Voyage was a fundraiser – for all those women whom
Bumpus realizes are not as lucky as she is. Especially
women of color.
“One in eight women is
diagnosed with breast cancer,” said the health care
professional. While most of the women who are diagnosed are
not black, most of the women who die from the disease are
black, she noted. One of the major obstacles for women in
lower-income families is lack of transportation, said Bumpus.
“If you can’t get to your
mammogram, you can’t have the mammogram,” she said. “A lot
of my patients do not have reliable transportation.”
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