Photo exhibit honors breast cancer survivors

When Kimberly Dresch was diagnosed with a form of breast cancer, she swore she would never become "a pink-wearing, pink-walking zombie."

"I thought, 'You have nothing else better to do with your life than walk in walks?' " Dresch said. "I just didn't get it."

Now, almost two years after her diagnosis, Dresch, 53, an artist who lives in Great Neck, is raising money for Strides Against Breast Cancer and the American Cancer Society. For the months of September and October, at the Village of Great Neck Plaza Courthouse, she is showcasing "Re-Emergence Support Hope," a photo exhibit of 17 women in her breast cancer support group.

Dresch said all the women photographed for the exhibit had made the decision to undergo a mastectomy.

Each photograph depicts a breast cancer survivor making a gesture toward her chest. Each gesture is different, and each photo conveys a different story about life after cancer.

One of the women photographed, Jane Steckler, 51, of Oceanside, said she is proud to be part of the exhibit and that she and Dresch have grown close during their journey of support for each other.

"I have many scars," Steckler said. "Many have faded, many will never fade, inside and out. The photograph makes me feel attractive again. It makes me feel good about myself."

Dresch gestures to her own chest. "Despite this, I'm alive, and I am here," she said. "Whoever gets to look at this is uplifted by it, and that is the whole purpose of this exhibit."

She was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ, a growth within a milk duct, which is the most common form of noninvasive breast cancer.

After her diagnosis, Dresch's doctors recommended removal of both breasts, a bilateral mastectomy. Her grandmother had breast cancer and Dresch has the BRCA gene, an indication she is genetically predisposed to the disease.

In August 2009, she met with an aesthetic plastic surgeon, Dr. Randall S. Feingold in Great Neck, who specializes in breast reconstruction for cancer patients who have had mastectomies.

"Kim, like most women, was nervous about how her body might have to be changed," Feingold said. "She was unsure if she would ever be comfortable with herself again."

"It's very difficult to decide to take your breasts," said Dresch, who is self-publishing a book of the photographs to raise money for breast cancer research. "But what other decision would one make to save their life, and to save their body?"

Today, she strives for breast cancer awareness, and chooses to see the glass as half-full. She leads an active life - sailing, painting, walking and photographing. And she does it all with what she calls a positive "atti-boob."

"Is it [cancer] everything? No," she said. "It's a part of my life. It's changed me. I love myself more because of it. I give more of myself now."