Flock Cancer.
While the cheeky message may be hidden behind a flamboyance of pink plastic flamingos, the sentiment is undeniable. And the nonprofit organization behind this clever name is helping cancer survivors across the Treasure Valley, one stroll at a time.
Leading the way is Leslie Scantling, affectionately referred to as the Flock Leader on her business cards.
“Come on, if you ever get the opportunity to have that title, you seize the chance,” she said of the title.
Scantling founded Flock Cancer Idaho in 2021 when the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure pulled out of Boise. Scantling and her mother, Barbara Rhoades, are both breast cancer survivors.
“Our family cadence was to have what I call my ‘Pink Party’ the night before the Komen event where mom, all her friends from McCall, and our family would celebrate, then go do the walk the following morning,” Scantling said. “After I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016, the joint celebration was very important for us to get to mark the occasion together. When there was no walk, my initial thought was that I still wanted to have something to mark the occasion. I didn’t realize how important it was for us to get the chance to celebrate our survivorship until it was taken away from us.”
“My daughter Leslie and I were heartbroken at the loss of our annual celebration activity and bemoaned the even greater loss to the community as a whole,” Rhoades said. “My daughter felt compelled to do something about the loss and Flock Cancer was born.”
What started out as a walk with friends wearing fun shirts turned into a fundraiser. As more friends and survivor groups asked to join, the effort snowballed.
“With very little planning and word of mouth, about 300 people showed up and we raised just over $25,000!” Scantling said. “Participants that year looked at me and said, ‘Same time next year, right?’ That is what really showed me that there was a big need in the survivor community to keep an event in our Valley.”
Thus, the Flock Cancer Street Stroll became an annual event, occurring the Saturday before Mother’s Day each May. And the flamingo flock made the perfect mascot.
“For the first 23 years, when I would have my ‘Pink Party’ for my mom, we would decorate,” Scantling said. “And living on Harrison Boulevard, it was fun to have the decor spill out onto the front yard. I rented the flamingo flock from Franz Witte for the whimsical fun of it on the Boulevard, so the theme seemed natural when I created my organization.”
Now, the Stroll is packed with plastic pink flamingos and a joyous street fair atmosphere as participants walk their loop around Harrison Boulevard in Boise.
“There are costumes and decorations and music and a lot of laughter and tears,” Scantling said. “One of the most fun elements of the Stroll is the participation and support of the homeowners along Harrison Boulevard who set up cheering stations with various types of fun engagement, from pink lemonade to games to music. We also block off one side street for the ‘Flock Party,’ where we have food, photos, music, face painting, and a survivor tent. And, of course, we have onsite mammograms available the whole morning.”
Scantling said Flock Cancer has raised over $300,000 to support cancer fighters, survivors, and programs in the Treasure Valley and surrounding rural communities.
“I am in awe and so proud of (Leslie’s) selfless efforts on behalf of cancer survivors in our area,” Rhoades said.
And the help goes beyond medical needs.
“We feel it is our mission to be the caretakers for the survivor experience and advance our mission to promote awareness and screening,” Scantling said. “Beyond that, we are really listening to the needs of our survivor community to identify the gaps in support they might be feeling. One that we identified is in dental/oral care for women going through chemotherapy, which can be so hard and corrosive on our gums and soft tissue. In honor of a survivor sister who lost her struggle to a related cancer, we created Cary’s Care Kits to provide oral and dental products specifically to combat chemo-related mouth sores, dry mouth, etc.”
Scantling said her work with Flock Cancer has shown her how caring and generous the community is.
“Considering (breast cancer) affects 1 in 8 people, it is hard to find a family that has not had direct impact by the disease,” she said. “It really motivates people to participate and get involved in a cause that is so close to so many hearts.”
And Scantling has applied lessons from her own experience with cancer.
“I am a fourth-generation breast cancer survivor,” she said. “I generally assumed it wasn’t a matter of if, but just when it might happen to me. But that doesn’t really prepare you for the fear and impact of getting that call. It took me a while to be able to process my own survivor journey, as it was a period of my life fraught with compound trauma. So it is part of my own healing journey to help others who are coming after me.”
Providing support for others helps guide Flock Cancer’s flight path.
“I feel so very strongly about supporting the newly diagnosed women and men who join our community,” Scantling said. “Cancer can be so very isolating. And survivorship is emotionally complex in its own way. Being able to walk with women through this journey, empathize with them on their dark days and the emotions that can come along with it all, and ultimately help to take this journey of pain and darkness and turn it into something with celebration and joy is what fills my heart.”
For those facing their own cancer diagnosis, Scantling had the following advice: “Don’t go it alone. Have someone with you at appointments and consultations. The trauma and stress you undergo after a diagnosis is a significant PTSD event and it can be hard to comprehend and take it all in during consultations. The survivor community is here to provide support and offer perspective, as we have walked this path and are here to help you along the journey.”
If you’re interested in helping out Flock Cancer, email info@flockcanceridaho.org or visit flockcanceridaho.org for ways to get involved.