26-year-old breast cancer survivor organizes Bowling for Boobs at Westside Bowl

Kat Jackson is a local artist and massage therapist who was diagnosed with an extremely rare kind of breast cancer at 25 years old.

Jackson organized Bowling for Boobs at Westside Bowl in Youngstown to raise awareness and some funds. Within an hour, the parking lot was full.

“The people that showed up today are amazing and so many people love this place,” she said. “They know where it’s at, it’s been around for so long. It’s really great to be here and bring that vintage feel and awareness for breast cancer to a place that everyone knows and loves.”

Admission was free, but Jackson set up basket raffles, a 50/50 raffle, and unlimited bowling for $20 for the family-friendly fundraiser.

“It’s just great that that so many people are coming whether because they know a survivor, or they just love the music and I want that uplifting energy for this kind of benefit. I don’t want it to be sad. I want it to be informative, and I wanted to share that with everybody. With my age, I have a really good angle to really give that information out. It’s a great awareness,” Jackson said.

She invited local vendors to set up booths and live bands, including Ohayo and Presk View, to perform music throughout the afternoon.

The money from Bowling for Boobs went toward helping Jackson’s journey recovering from stage three breast cancer and fertility testing.

She’s now cancer-free and ready to help other women advocate for themselves in the doctor’s office and sift through facts and misconceptions.

Advocating for yourself, misconceptions

Jackson first discovered she had a lump under her armpit when she was shaving on February 6.

“I had a painful lump, it’s not usually painful,” she said. “I was just shaving, I wasn’t examining myself.”

Because her grandmother survived breast cancer, Jackson wanted to get examined as quickly as she could.

The examinations proved to be a challenge because she was only 25 years old and doctors first wrote her prescriptions for an infection.

“I first was prescribed twice for antibiotics I chose not to take because there’s nothing there for an infection. It didn’t feel correct or proper for me. The medication’s not going to make that shrink. There’s a mass there,” Jackson said. “Genetic testing is really hard. So for someone young, under the age of the sideline for a mammogram, I didn’t fit for that at 25.”

Jackson started asking herself: “Where do I need to get looked at to get believes? Or get the proper testing just a mammogram? But then again, it makes you question, well, what’s the guidelines for seeing a patient like me on paper? What would you do? You have to think about the other side of the coin, I just might be protocol. They can only do so much to at the same time. Health insurance dictates your care. Many people don’t ask the questions that need to be asked. You don’t need to believe or trust in the doctor, you have to be your own advocate, and that’s the biggest thing.”

Diagnosis, facing your future

After getting second and third opinions, Jackson was diagnosed with breast cancer with invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) stage 3 and estrogen/hormone-positive at 25 years old in 2023.

“I found out on April 1 last year I had breast cancer. I had to wait to tell anyone until the next day because it wasn’t an April Fool’s joke. You have to laugh,” Jackson said. “It sucks a lot. But there’s still a way to translate that into an outlet. What it’s like, there are no words for it so art is my way of articulating that.”

Doctors found out she had the BRCA1 gene mutation; only 5-10% of the population diagnosed with breast cancer has a BRCA 1 or 2 mutation.

The BRCA1 is more aggressive and presents earlier in age than the average diagnosed population.

“It’s just really crazy, like just how aggressive this gene is,” she said. “I had to close my two massage therapy offices in Ohio and West Virginia of two years on a rushed note to prepare for treatment along with pausing my photography and artisan side work.”

Now unemployed, Jackson moved in with her friend Lexi Kays, who has a band called Ohayo.

She moved back to Youngstown when she started going through chemotherapy and genetic testing in October of last year.

With aspirations to have a family one day, Jackson started looking into preserving her eggs.

“I was on a medication to turn off my ovaries and protect them. But the chemo I was on is very aggressive, and a lot of grants disqualify you if you are still in treatment or did not complete your fertility preservation prior to treatment,” Jackson said. “A lot of people don’t know how the fertility aspect goes, but it’s so expensive and it’s hard to get information, too. It’s like pulling teeth to figure out. There’s no easy FAQs with infertility after cancer. I didn’t know that that was involved. When I got diagnosed, it was just about getting through cancer.”

As a licensed massage therapist, Jackson got to experience how it felt to be on the other side of the care during her treatment.

“When you’re in the situation, you’re like, I just want comfort and to feel better. I went to the Cleveland Clinic and they offer oncology massages for free for the clients. That was amazing to receive the other side of that, amazing,” said Jackson. “I’m not the provider anymore, I’m the patient. Now I understand the benefits you get from that from this different angle for me to really push for wellness.”

She finished treatment on Valentine’s Day.

“I was done on Valentine’s Day. And then actually, on April 1, 2024 when I had my last imaging done one year later, it was really nice. It really doesn’t emotionally hit you until later. I’m more of the colder, emotionless person naturally, but this has really opened me up to feeling a lot more. It’s difficult to explain, but it’s like the things you go through psychologically, I was relieved when it was gone. I took pictures throughout the process. I was like, ‘I just want to remember how this felt in this time and timestamp that change.’”

Now, she’s using her experience to connect with her patients and provide better education about breast cancer and its risks.

“That was my angle with my massage work too, is patient education. They’re not going to know unless you give that information out. It’s just so life-changing; I could not be here today. It still hits me now; I could be dead twice for how things went.”

Putting together Bowling for Boobs

Jackson set up Bowling for Boobs with help from family and her boyfriend, Joe Zaitzew.

She designed the shirts and sweatshirts, which were printed at local shops in Warren and New Middletown.

“Between the flyer, the stickers, T shirts, I wanted to make something that creates a conversation,” Jackson said. “The Titty Tuesday shirts, I did that with a friend of mine that lives in L.A., he’s from Cleveland. It’s a vintage graphic from Playboy, which I think is really cool. The whole vintage vibe I wanted to hit with the shirts and just like that old school comfy shirt that you want to wear again, not just a breast cancer shirt. I wanted to find comfort through my art too, and something that’s funny too.”

A significant part of her patient education agenda is encouraging learning more and debunking misconceptions, such as how breast cancer doesn’t skip a generation.

Check out Jackson’s artwork and crafts for sale online under Kat Jackson Creations.

This story was originally published April 16, 2024 at 6:00 AM.

Kelcey Norris

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