The next time you’re in a group, take a look around. Undoubtedly, there will be at least eight women in the area. And at least one of those women will be diagnosed with breast cancer.

Statistics state that one in every eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lifetime. That means virtually everyone will know someone with this potentially deadly disease. The cancer itself doesn’t care who it affects. It goes after mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, friends, and even men. Cancer doesn’t care if it fits into your schedule. It doesn’t care if people depend on you. It doesn’t care about anything.

But luckily, there are plenty of people who care enough about cancer and how it affects people that they will do just about anything to make sure nobody has to fight it alone.

Mott Parker is one of those people.

Parker is the founder of Edisto’s breast cancer awareness group the Edisto Belles. She’s also a two-time breast cancer survivor.

She was first diagnosed in 2005 after a routine mammogram. Like many women, Parker said she always went for her yearly mammograms and never really thought much about them. After all, she said, cancer didn’t run in her family and she had no symptoms to indicate that something could be wrong. But after the test, she got a call back from her doctor who said she needed to come back in for some more testing.

Unfortunately, the additional testing proved she had cancer. But in a way, Parker was lucky.

She had digital mammogram, which is not as widely used as the traditional mammography machine, and it had detected masses in two areas that neither she nor her doctor could feel.

This early detection meant that the cancer was caught in its early stages and it had not yet spread to her lymph nodes or other parts of her body, so her chances of beating the cancer were high. Still though, being told she had cancer when otherwise she felt fine was life-altering.

“It hit me like a ton of bricks, but I just said, ‘let’s do what we gotta do,’” she said.

Parker underwent a mastectomy to rid her body of the cancer. Fortunately, she did not need to go through chemotherapy and radiation.

Two years went by and Parker said she was doing well. She continued getting regular check-ups and mammograms, and thought that breast cancer was behind her. But then in the summer of 2007, doctors found cancer in her other breast.

“I just thought, ‘thank God he only gives us two of them,’” Parker said.

Much like the last time she was diagnosed, Parker went into the hospital to have her second mastectomy. She said if she could do it all again, she would have had the doctors remove both breasts after her initial diagnosis because it is common for cancer to show up on both sides, but at the time, she didn’t know that was an option.

Again, the cancer had not spread to her lymph nodes or anywhere else in her body, so radiation and chemotherapy were not needed. All Parker had left to do was reconstruct her breast.

During her first battle against cancer, Parker had her breast reconstructed using tissue and blood vessels from her abdomen. For her second reconstructive surgery, she was unable to use her own tissue, so she opted for an implant.

Parker said reconstruction is something many women are concerned about when they find out they have breast cancer. She said that many women think that reconstructive surgery is not covered by health insurance, when in reality it is fully covered by law thanks to all the women who lobbied to make sure that it was covered.

These women, some of whom were breast cancer survivors who had not yet had reconstructive surgery due to the prohibitive costs, found out that insurance companies routinely paid for all testicular implants for men who had gone through testicular cancer. Seeing how unjust this was, these women refused to give in until breasts were treated as fairly as testicles in the world of health insurance.

Their efforts paid off and now no woman has to forego reconstructive surgery due to financial constraints.

After all that Parker went through with her breast cancer, she decided that one of the most helpful parts of her recovery was the support from other survivors, so she thought that having a network of women who could share stories about their experiences with breast cancer would be a good thing for the people of Edisto and that’s when the Edisto Belles was created.

The group’s name comes from a tradition that cancer patients have at the hospital. Parker said at the end of treatment, there’s a bell that patients ring to indicate that they have completed treatment and are free from cancer. When the sound of the bell reverberates throughout the hospital, everyone knows what the sound of that bell means and it gives hope to all those still battling.

Parker’s gotten to ring that bell twice.

In just two years, the Edisto Belles have become quite the presence on Edisto and can be seen at virtually all festivals and events. They promote breast health awareness for the community, and also provide a support system for anyone suffering from breast cancer.

Parker said if anyone has been diagnosed with breast cancer and wants to talk that they are welcome to call anytime. The Edisto Belles keep everyone’s information confidential and are there just to lend an ear and shoulder to cry on. They give every woman diagnosed a goody bag to see them through the battle against cancer and, most importantly, friendship.

“We help anyone who doesn’t know which way to turn,” Parker said. “We’re there for whatever is needed.”

Currently, there are 41 members of the Edisto Belles, all of whom are survivors. The group has countless other supporters who make donations and assist the group in any way possible.

If you would like to support the Edisto Belles, next Saturday at 8:30 a.m. there will be a fundraising walk/run on the McKinley Washington Bridge. Check in is at 8:30 and the walk/run begins at 9. Parking is available on the street and at the public boat landing right before the bridge. The walk is one mile in either direction and will be carried out rain or shine. The entry fee is $10 and can be paid on the day of the event or applications can be picked up at the Edisto Real Estate Company, Jane Edwards Elementary School, or McConkey’s Jungle Shack.

Parker said it is a great opportunity for the community to support the Edisto Belles and remember anyone who has lost the battle against breast cancer. She said she hopes that the group reminds women to pay attention to the health of their breasts, get the routine tests, and manage their health care so that they can maintain good health.

“I’m alive and I’m glad to be,” she said. “We keep telling people to do your breast checks at home and start getting mammograms because it can save your life. We’re learning more and more each day and someday I believe we’re going to find the cure. We’re going to get there.”

Find out more about the Edisto Belles at EdistoBelles.com or call Mott Parker at 843-869-4319. She can also be reached via email at mottp@edistobelles.com.