“Good Morning America” co-host Lara Spencer is usually the picture of poise as she dishes pop culture news on the ABC morning show. But she admitted being nervous when she spoke to an audience of 780 at the Breast Cancer Alliance’s 27th annual Luncheon & Fashion Show (“Seize the Day”), held Wednesday, Oct. 25, at the Westchester Country Club in Harrison. Her message, she said, was that personal. Cancer is that personal.
Spencer, a Greenwich resident, was on hand to introduce her friend, “GMA” executive producer Simone Swink, only the second woman executive producer in “GMA’s” history, who spoke about breast cancer in relationship to friends, family, work – and herself.
Amid the Covid pandemic that held everyone in thrall in 2020, Swink said, she was blindsided by a breast cancer diagnosis. She had no family history of the disease and no symptoms. What began as a Stage 1 diagnosis morphed into a Stage 2, then a changing diagnosis that would lead to a mastectomy, chemotherapy treatments that made her sick and the chicken pox. (Swink’s talk made us realize that cancer is like a hurricane, shooting off tornadoes of other illnesses.)
During this time, Swink did not see her parents for fear of them contacting Covid. But she had the support of Spencer and the rest of the “GMA” family and of her sister, who slept on the couch and made her nourishing soups. And she kept working.
Spencer told her to take a break, Swink said. Some in her situation would not have been able to work. But work, she said, gave her focus, purpose and meaning.
The first year after her recovery was, Swink added, even harder – as a doctor had predicted. You don’t know if the cancer will return. And you’re also uncertain of how the forever-changed you should proceed. Swink – who takes a hard-charging, researching producer’s approach to every problem, Spencer said – did her homework and discovered that the Greenwich-based Breast Cancer Alliance is among the organizations at the top when it comes to awarding research grants (more than $1.5 million this year); funding surgical fellowships; and supporting mammograms for the underserved.
This led to her message to the luncheon attendees: “Donate your money. Donate your time to cancer patients on their schedule. And get a mammogram.”
Helping attendees to donate thousands of dollars once again was Scott Mitchell of Richards clothing store in Greenwich, which outfitted the “Models of Inspiration” fashion show, featuring 12 breast cancer survivors strutting their stuff. He was also the smooth host of the live auction, joined this year by Gemma Sudlow, managing director for the New York region of Hindeman’s auction house.
Among the tony items they auctioned off was a trip to Naples, Italy, and the Amalfi Coast, with a winning bid of $18,000. The afternoon had somewhat of an Italian theme as BCA fashion partner Kiton – an Italian men’s and women’s clothing company known for its luxurious fabrics – presented its flowing couture. Before the runway show, Maria Kiton spoke of her struggles in convincing her father that women could do other things besides being mothers and teachers. Kiton said she told him that she and her sister would do their best by the company. The result on the runway was stylish cruise and day wear for women and men, set to an Italian pop soundtrack by DJ April Larken.
If the show was Italian, the food was American, local and autumnal – belying the June-like weather – with a menu of harvest grilled chicken, braised butternut squash and honey crisp with ancient grain power and a salad of baby kale, spinach and currants. Dessert featured tiers of mini lemon raspberry shooters, apple crisp tarts, cheesecake domes and brownie bites. It was all washed down by beverages courtesy of New York-based Empire Merchants and Ripe Bar Juice, whose juices are crafted in Connecticut.
For more, visit breastcanceralliance.org.
