Three years ago Lynda Robinson felt she had nowhere to turn.
There were times during her breast cancer diagnosis, double mastectomy and recovery that Robinson needed a different kind of emotional support than what could be offered by well-meaning family, friends and medical professionals.
She wanted to speak with someone who knew what she was going through.
There was no breast cancer support group in Prince George," said Robinson, who has been cancer-free since her surgery in July 2013. "I'm pretty open with being okay about how my body is but there were days I struggled with just the fact that I had breast cancer in the first place."
In November, fresh off a "Flat and Fabulous" photoshoot in Florida with an organization that celebrates life post-breasts, she decided she was done waiting.
Robinson started canvassing Prince George for a space where women could meet and just last week confirmed a room at St. Michael's Anglican Church.
The group will meet every second Tuesday from 7 to 9 p.m. starting Jan. 19 and already has 13 members signed up.
"Think book club but we're talking breast cancer stories," said Robinson, 51, with a laugh. "This is just for anybody who wants to sit around and talk about what they're going through with someone else who's gone through it."
She described it as a safe, private, free, guaranteed space for women to "help each other move forward one day at a time and share coping strategies and ways to "thrive after breast cancer treatment."
She feels the group will help fill a gap in services in the city, one she was aware in her own experience and by the number of people who approached her after her diagnosis and more recently after they read her story in the Citizen.
"Women, talk to me. When they see me go about my life - breast free and I'm still me - type of thing. If they've experienced they talk to me, but it's a whisper," she said.
"I've experienced everything: the diagnosis, the chemo, the surgery, the radiation and after."
She's also signed up to volunteer with CancerConnection, run by the Canadian Cancer Society, to connect with those affected by cancer. Prince George has another cancer support group - the Northern Cancer Support Network launched in March by Sarah White - open to all survivors, caregivers and those living with cancer.
Finding the venue for her group was "a small miracle," Robinson said, after two months of wading through "red tape" to find a room.
Her prayers were answered after she visited the church by chance and happened upon Rev. Alexis Saunders, Robinson said.
"I saw the church. This little voice said 'Why don't you go and ask?" she said.
"(Rev. Saunders) phoned me within an hour. I was so emotional. After all these no's I was getting."
That included those first on her list - Kordyban Lodge and the cancer clinic.
"I was very disappointed but I understood. They have policies and procedures. I was very disappointed because I thought for sure they would be behind me at least help me figure out where I could go."
She tried her daughter's school, community centres, the College of New Caledonia and the library. Each time, she'd walk in with a poster and the Citizen article about her journey. All spaces had a cost attached, or couldn't guarantee the rooms every week or required her to become a non-profit with liability insurance.
That wasn't what she wanted.
"I just want it to be a group of ladies sitting around talking about their breast cancer stories, very informal. It's not about counselling," said Robinson, which should be left to the professionals.
Robinson said she's already interacting with women on the closed Facebook group and is excited about meeting in person.
"If one person comes, it's a success. The numbers aren't important to me. The fact is there's a space there and it's delegated for breast cancer support in Prince George."
Those interested in joining can contact Robinson at [email protected] or find the group at www.facebook.com/groups/breastcancersupportgroupinprincegeorge.
