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Lets Be Candid. Betty would be so proud! On October 13, 2015, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation partnered with Spectrum Health to host the third annual Candid Conversations, a Betty Ford Breast Care Services and Spectrum Health Cancer Center event to celebrate National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Susan Ford Bales joined this year’s free community event to foster public awareness and continue her mother’s legacy of openness about her own experience with breast cancer. Her heartfelt remarks drew a standing ovation from the crowd of over 1,100.
Grammy-winning singer/songwriter and breast cancer awareness advocate Amy Grant shared personal insights and a few songs. The band Mid-Life Crisis and the Jenison Public Schools Music Department also inspired the audience with musical performances. Judy Smith, MD, chief of Spectrum Health Cancer Center, served as emcee. Dr. Smith touched on the significant changes in cancer diagnosis and treatment since 1974 when Mrs. Ford learned she had breast cancer.
Special guests enjoyed a trolley ride to the Jenison Center for the Arts, and everyone was invited to the welcome reception featuring light bites, selfie stations, ask-the-experts and vendor booths. The crescendo to the evening—a lights-out, moving musical performance with the audience’s pink flashlights illuminating the night.
Photos and content provided by Spectrum Health Cancer Center.
