Salon du Monde to Host Breast Fest Fundraiser for Cancer Concern Center on Oct. 9

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Salon du Monde will host the third-annual Breast Fest fundraiser on Tuesday, Oct. 9, on behalf of the Cancer Concern Center.

Salon du Monde, 620 Arnold Ave., Point Pleasant Beach, describes Breast Fest as a unique, women-only fundraiser, with beauty and comedy uniting to fight cancer.

Tickets to Breast Fest are $50 each. Thanks to the generosity of Salon du Monde, all proceeds remain in the local community by supporting the Cancer Concern Center, 1101 Richmond Avenue, Point Pleasant Beach.

Included in the $50 ticket price are a blow dry and martini at Salon du Monde (appointment required) and dinner and a comedy show at Uncle Vinnie’s Comedy Club, beginning at 7 p.m.

Breast Fest will feature a line-up of female comedians performing for an all-female audience at Uncle Vinnie’s Comedy Club, 518 Arnold Ave. The comedy club is a BYOB establishment.

The Cancer Concern Center offers support groups, meditation and yoga classes, nutritional workshops, and new wigs to local residents regardless of their ability to pay. Far from an affluent organization, the Cancer Concern Center has no paid staff and minimal overhead, funneling donations into client programs instead of administration.

Point Pleasant Beach resident Lisa Montalbano runs the Cancer Concern Center as a volunteer office manager.

She explains, “Everything we do at the Cancer Concern Center revolves around the women and men who have the courage to walk through our front door. We don’t charge any mandatory fees. We add programs, as our budget allows, to serve local residents who are struggling with cancer and the economy at the same time.”

“We’re incredibly thankful that Danielle Malone and her staff at Salon du Monde have ‘adopted’ the Cancer Concern Center as their local charity of choice,” Montalbano continues.

“We’re thrilled to participate in Breast Fest for the third year. It’s a fun, girls’ night out. Because of the hard work of Salon du Monde, 100 percent of the proceeds remain right in our neighborhood, at the Cancer Concern Center.”

Ever since its founding in 1998, the Cancer Concern Center has been an independent non-profit run by breast cancer survivors: Lori Jeffries of Point Pleasant and Jill McDonough of Lavallette.

They envisioned a warm and welcoming setting that didn’t feel like a hospital – a convenient place for women and men with cancer to discuss their condition, access resources, receive non-judgmental support, and rejuvenate their spirit.

Pat Spillane of Lakewood is a licensed social worker and breast cancer survivor who leads the Cancer Concern Center’s support groups. “My heart is with helping people who have cancer,” Spillane shares, “but the reality is cancer affects the entire family.

At our support groups, we offer a safe, confidential, homelike environment for women and men with cancer to talk about things they wouldn’t necessarily say to a spouse. They exchange views about different modalities of treatment, and they have an outlet for sharing their fears.

“It’s not easy to talk to strangers about cancer,” Spillane continues, “but I’ve seen women who come to the Cancer Concern Center really become like sisters. So many people still think of ‘the big C’ as a death sentence, but more people are living with cancer today than they did 10 years ago. Women may be afraid to move forward with breast exams and Pap smears, but early diagnosis saves lives.”

Montalbano says the Breast Fest fundraiser on Oct. 9 comes at a critical juncture for the 15-year-old Cancer Concern Center.

“Other cancer organizations are much larger, offering more programs and benefitting from national affiliations,” Montalbano explains. “The Cancer Concern Center has always been an independent, grassroots effort, with neighbors helping neighbors with cancer. We’re dependent on local sponsorships, grants, and donations to keep
our doors open.”

Tickets to Breast Fest can be purchased at Salon Du Monde (732-714-1437). For more information on the Cancer Concern Center, please contact Lisa Montalbano at the center (732-701-0250 or lbano@comcast.net), visit cancerconcerncenter.org, or like the Cancer Concern Center on Facebook.

The mission of the Cancer Concern Center is to provide emotional support and wellness programs to women and men affected by cancer. The Cancer Concern Center was the first non-profit to offer support services to adults with cancer in Northern Ocean County.

It is a member of the Ocean Medical Center’s Coalition for Cancer Survivorship. All contributions to the Cancer Concern Center are tax-deductible and utilized for local cancer support programs.