As former Dowagiac resident Mona Bowe learned, it doesn’t matter how old you are or how much money you have in the bank — the threat of breast cancer lingers above the head of every woman.

Thanks to the generosity of people across the community, though, many have received the benefit of early detection, allowing them to defeat the disease.

Around 40 people from the hospital and the surrounding community braved the chilly evening weather, gathering at Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital’s Farr Park Wednesday evening for the hospital’s Tree of Love lighting ceremony. Organized by the Lee Memorial Foundation, the event celebrates the contributions that donors have provided for free mammography services, with each light strung on the pine tree out in front of the hospital parking lot representing a donation made that year.

So far this year, the organization has raised more than $7,000 for the program, nearing their $8,000 goal for the year. Last year, they raised $12,600.

Several representatives and community members spoke during the annual event, including Bowe, who shared her experiences surviving breast cancer.

“Cancer, more than anything, is a family affair,” Bowe said. “It affects not just the women who are diagnosed with it, but everyone around them.”

Bowe was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 33 years old. It was at her husband’s suggestion that she see a doctor to have a lump on her body examined, she said.

Her fight thought her a number of lessons about patience and overcoming obstacles that she continues to carry with her to this day, in her job working in the admissions office at St. Mary’s College in South Bend.

“When something comes to my door that’s really a big, big issue, the first thing I think is ‘it’s not the phone call the doctor gave me in 1999 telling me I had cancer,”” Bowe said. “No matter what it is, I can face it, I can deal with it, I can make it better.”

Despite being cancer free for over a decade, she continues to deal the disease indirectly, as she continues to regularly meet others who are dealing with breast cancer. She encouraged the community to continue to support the Tree of Love program, to help those who are less fortunate get the detection services they need.

“Thank you to Borgess-Lee Memorial, who continues to provide mammograms to women who can’t do it on their own,” Bowe said. “Thank you for supporting this program, because those women could be you.”

The Lee Memorial Foundation will continue to accept donations for the program through December. Interested donors should contact the organization at (269) 783-3026.