“As soon as you hear the word ‘cancer,’ you’re just a mess,” said Isabella, a second-grade teacher at MJ Fletcher Elementary School. “You’re just in a fog and have so many questions about what to do and where to go.”

UPMC Chautauqua’s Navigation Nurses, specifically dedicated to breast cancer care, helped streamline the process: they scheduled Isabella’s appointments, prepared a document with all of her pertinent information, and were a “guiding light” for it through surgery and treatment.

Unbeknownst to Isabella, the navigators and care she received during her journey were made possible by the work of one of her closest friends: retired kindergarten teacher Fletcher Anne Sischo, a nine-year breast cancer survivor and founder of the Shades of Pink Fund at the WCA Foundation.

Nine years after the “Fletcher family” rallied around Sischo, who retired in 2019, they came together on October 25 to rally around Isabella and other cancer survivors for Breast Cancer Awareness Month . Students and staff raised $550 for Shades of Pink through the sale of pink ribbons that now appear in the Fletcher atrium and a “Hats Off to Cancer Survivors” day where students and staff could wear a hat to school for a donation of 50 of cents. . All proceeds will remain local.

Fletcher Elementary staff and students pose for a picture in pink during their “Hats Off to Cancer Survivors” day on Oct. 25. Fletcher Elementary staff and students raised $550 to support the Shades of Pink Fund at the WCA Foundation, created by a retired teacher. Anne Sischo and in honor of 2nd grade teacher Teresa Isabella.

“When I was diagnosed, I didn’t know what to do next,” said Sischo, who created the fund nine years ago shortly after becoming a survivor. “I had a lady who helped me so much during my trip and I thought we need something like that here in Jamestown. Our fund has also helped to get people to come in for mammograms – helping them afford them – and equipment.”

Neither Isabella nor the others in the building had a true understanding of the impact of their former colleague’s fund.

“Anne and Teresa are like sisters, and for Teresa to get direct support from this fund that Anne doesn’t even know at first — that’s Anne,” said Shannon Osborne, a colleague of Isabella’s who helped to Fletcher’s fundraising drive through the building. The Spirit Committee. “Anne doesn’t shout from the rooftops. That support has been quietly given for the past nine years, and for one of her dearest friends to reap the benefits of it, it’s one of those beautiful moments in life that is so serendipitous. That’s why we chose Shades of Pink to be the beneficiary of this special fundraiser.”

“We’ve always volunteered for the Shades of Pink Golf Tournament over the years and knew what Anne was doing was important,” said Isabella, “But you never know the impact of something like this until you’re – and the navigators have been phenomenal throughout the process. I am so grateful for them.”

Now on the other side of both diagnoses, Isabella and Sischo are grateful for the support they both received. Now, they simply want to raise awareness for people who are due for an annual mammogram. Many employers, including JPS, will even offer four hours of paid leave for a cancer screening.

“You lean on people like Anne who have been through it, and you lean on the people who are around you,” Isabella said. “For me, it was my team here at school because I kept pushing myself to go to work. I can’t tell you how loving and supportive my group at school was to make sure my class was prepared.”

“You have to have support at your workplace, your family and your friends,” Sischo added. “This has always been a special building and I am so touched that they have chosen to help pay for it in this way”

Isabella added: “People have been there for me and now I want to be there for them.”