Models overcome cancer obstacles

Baldivis resident Stacy Whale has spent the past month organising a calendar shoot, which will feature survivors and battlers of cancer as well as their supporters, strategically placed around the Baldivis Health and Fitness Obstacle Course.

Like many other people, Mrs Whale has lost family through cancer and has close friends and family who continue to battle the disease.

In March next year she plans to participate in the Weekend to End Women’s Cancers, an annual fundraising walk organised by the West Australian Institute of Medical Research, but has to raise a minimum of $2000 to get to the starting line.

‘I wanted to come up with something that hadn’t been done in a while and I thought of the firemen calendars, but then I remembered a movie I had watched years ago called Calendar Girls and thought why not,’ Mrs Whale said.

About 30 people who have experienced cancer volunteered to take part in the project, while local businesses offered their services to help with the behind the scenes work.

She said the calendar girls theme would highlight the beauty of each model’s body, with some affected by cancer, and the shoot location at the obstacle course would symbolise the challenges people with cancer had to get through.

‘Cancer is an obstacle that sometimes with the right help we can overcome and sometimes we can’t, but at least we can say we gave it our best attempt,’ Mrs Whale said.

‘The models will be all ages, shapes and sizes ” we even have a few men involved just to mix it up ” as cancer (even breast) is pretty much non discriminatory.’

The calendar is due to go to print at the end of this month.

Mrs Whale hopes the proceeds from the calendar sales will allow her to participate in the Weekend to End Women’s Cancers walk, but said the main aim was to help create awareness. ‘The more people who are aware, the more likely they are to become involved in fundraising causes in the future,’ she said.