MANSFIELD — Dave Kracker’s mission was simple. He was determined to eliminate any financial hurdle for area women in need of a mammogram.
Kracker never imagined his simple fundraising efforts would turn into a countywide organization.
“I didn’t plan this,” Kracker told the audience Wednesday at the 25th anniversary celebration of the Pat Kracker Breast Cancer Fund. “All I wanted to do is make sure no woman in this county is without the money for a mammogram.”
Today, the Pat Kracker Breast Cancer Fund helps women across Richland County pay for mammograms and other cancer-related costs.
The fund celebrated its 25th anniversary with a ceremonial ribbon cutting at the Westbrook Country Club. Kracker received commendations from both the City of Mansfield and the Ohio House of Representatives.
Kracker founded the fund in 1996 and named it in honor of his wife Pat, who passed away from breast cancer on her 61st birthday.
“I laugh because Pat, who was kind of a private person, would not have liked seeing her face on a billboard,” Kracker said.
Kracker and the fund’s committee are active proponents of mammograms for all women over the age of 40.
Twelve percent of all women will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives, according to Patty Kastelic, director of cancer services for OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital.
While age, lifestyle, gender and genetics all play a role, 75 percent of women who develop breast cancer have no corresponding risk factors.
Treatments for breast cancer have significantly increased survival rates, but early detection is crucial.
“It’s become a curable disease,” Kastelic said. “It’s probably the disease that’s come the farthest in terms of cancer treatment and survivorship rate.”
In its early days, the fund’s work was primarily paying for mammograms and buying copies of a breast cancer treatment guide to give away at local medical providers’ offices. The book is a comprehensive guide for treatment and recovery – covering all aspects of breast cancer treatment from diagnosis through recovery.
“When you get that diagnosis, the fright of the thing is so powerful you don’t know where to start,” he said.
The fund continues to purchase copies of the book as well as a guide for patient support partners, but its work has expanded throughout the years.
Breast cancer patients can also get financial assistance for other types of diagnostic procedures, clinical exams, wigs, prosthesis and transportation to and from treatment.
For breast cancer patients who experience income loss, the fund can provide temporary assistance with rent, utilities and other living costs.
“Whatever it takes, that’s what we try to do,” Kracker said.
Kracker said the fund could not do its work without the generous support of the community as well as its affiliates.
Over the last 15 years, the fund has averaged $30,000 in donations per year and aided between 30 and 60 patients each year, chairwoman Rhonda Breit said.
Kracker continues to be an active member of the committee, but the 82-year-old recently turned leadership of the fund over to Breit.
“Rhonda is a wolverine. Wolverines are pretty fierce. They don’t stop,” he said. “She has more passion than I do.”
Like many of the committee members, Breit is breast cancer survivor. She was treated for stage 1A breast cancer in 2017 and is currently in remission.
“When I came out of my treatment, I just felt like I survived for a reason and part of that reason was to give back to other people,” Breit said. “Sometimes it’s just listening. I’ve had patients that call me that they don’t need financial assistance, but they want to know what to expect.”
“My favorite part about what I do is dealing with the patients,” she added. “The amount of strength and courage and bravery that I see on a daily basis working with these women is just phenomenal.
“They deal with the shock of the diagnosis, this overwhelming amount of information, being rushed into testing and treatment and we help them breathe through that,” Breit said.
Breit said the fund hopes to expand its services in the future.
“We know that there are individuals trying to ramp up their fundraisers this year. If they’re able to succeed in that, we will likely be able to expand our services,” she said.
To find out more about the fund or donate, visit helpmepat.org.
