For Flora Migyanka, the clock stopped on April 21, 2012 at exactly 4:03 p.m. when she answered the phone and heard the words “You have breast cancer.”
“I was only 40, and I was healthy,” the now 50-year-old Plymouth resident explained. “People who are in good health don’t get cancer...or so I thought. While my three-year-old son was still napping and I was en route to the bus to pick up my daughter in kindergarten, I was diagnosed with Stage 1 Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer.”
After a bilateral mastectomy, reconstruction and ongoing tamoxifen therapy (a drug that treats hormone receptor-positive breast cancer and has helped prevent breast cancer), Migyanka is grateful for now being cancer-free but acutely aware her cancer could come back at any time.
“It was a full-time job to get well,” she said, adding that family, friends and yoga helped her through. “When you’re diagnosed with a disease like cancer, you quickly become an expert on things you never thought you would want or need to know, like how many doctor appointments you can fit into a day while juggling being a mom and keeping that brave face for your children. The day you are diagnosed is the day you will see life from a different lens.”
Nine years later, Migyanka understands the desire of those in remission to just stop thinking about cancer; however, she also understands that not everyone has the same chance, which inspired her to create The Dynami Foundation with a mission to further the research, treatment and prevention of breast cancer while strengthening and supporting patients as they navigate the complexities of their breast cancer journey.
Since 2016, The Dynami Foundation has hosted the annual Uncork for a Cure event, which incorporates metro Detroit’s award-winning chefs, sommeliers and artists. In just five years, Uncork for a Cure has raised over one million dollars, funding six research studies on Lobular Breast Cancer, an underfunded and under researched common subtype. (40,000 women will be diagnosed this year, and there are no specific treatments).
“Breast cancer is so pervasive and the statistics [1 in 8 affected women] have not changed,” Migyanka said. “By collaborating with our community and supporting the researchers, physicians and continued patient outreach, we will further foster our direct impact locally and nationally.”
This year’s Uncork for a Cure will take place right here in West Bloomfield at Cauley Ferrari of Detroit on Friday, November 12. New this year, The Dynami Foundation is excited to be raffling off a classic 1997 Ferrari F355 Spider! Tickets are $250 each and only 1,500 will be sold. Visit dynamifoundation.org for more information.