Angela Bovat and Lindsey Bubar met by happenstance.
They were in the same location thanks to their children’s elementary school orientation. As Angela sat through the program, her mind raced through thoughts about her chemotherapy treatment, which she was set to begin later that week. In front of Angela sat Lindsey, scarf wrapped around her head. She had just started her own chemotherapy treatment and when Angela saw the scarf, she asked a mutual friend to introduce them.
“It was an immediate connection,” shared Lindsey. “I had someone who literally knew what I was going through.”
“Your worlds collide with someone else’s when you need them,” added Angela. “It was kismet.”
Through both of their cancer journeys, the women leaned on one another for support.
“We didn’t meet for good things. We didn’t connect because we had the same favorite vacation spot,” said Lindsey. “We were there for each other at the absolute worst, lowest point, and somehow managed to piggy back off one another. It always felt like we were carrying each other throughout the whole thing and it just made the experience better—if it can be made better, it was.”
“She’s my person,” shared Angela.
Their friendship and support network was complemented by family and friends who had a strong desire to help out where they could. After both of their diagnoses, the women had family members and friends who asked if they wanted to form a team to walk in the Rays of Hope Walk & Run Toward the Cure of Breast Cancer.
“When a friend asked me if I wanted to have a team, I said yes. I do want to do this. I want to have some fun. I need to have some fun in my life,” shared Angela.
The result was a feeling of connectedness that both women experienced almost immediately.
“The first time you walk into Rays of Hope and you’re a cancer survivor and you realize ‘oh, this is for me and this is for other people like me. I’m now part of this community.’ It was such an emotional experience,” said Lindsey.
Funding for the future
Through their journeys, Angela and Lindsey have participated in the Walk & Run and have shared the importance of the programs and research that result from the funding.
“If we want to be here, if we want our daughters, nieces, sisters, and moms to be here, years down the road, then we have to continue to fund this and make sure that the money is going toward research and programs that support people until we find a cure,” said Lindsey.
“This isn’t breast cancer the way that people had breast cancer 10 years ago, and that’s because of the funds raised,” shared Angela. “And, it’s local. It’s not like when you donate to something that’s across the country. You don’t realize how much you benefit from these programs until you’re in the middle of it.”
For Angela and Lindsey, Rays of Hope is part of the fabric of their friendship, deepening their bond, and providing an outlet for them to show their support for each other and the thousands of other survivors.
“Your world will collide with someone else’s when you need them,” said Angela. “She is the only one who gets it.”
“I can’t imagine going through this whole thing without having her weaved in it on such a deep, intimate, and personal level,” added Lindsey.