Breast Cancer Awareness Month: today's featured survivor: Beth Weigel
Age: 41.
Juneau resident: Since June 1999.
Family: Parents in Pennsylvania; sister, brother-in-law and two nieces in Iowa; god-daughter in Haines; and friends in the Juneau community.
Hobbies: Skiing, hiking, yoga, travel, most things outdoors and volunteering for KTOO public radio and television.
Occupation: Executive director, Discovery Southeast; adjunct professor, University of Alaska Southeast; ski Instructor, Eaglecrest.
Kind: Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Years surviving: Last treatment was May 2006.
Diagnosed: May 2001, with recurrence in October 2005.
Quote: "Since I did not have health insurance when I was diagnosed with my recurrence, I had three choices - to become poor, to take on more debt than I would ever be able to repay or to die. I chose to become poor and rely upon the generosity of my friends and family to help me as well as the safety net we call public assistance. I learned that not only does it take a community to save a life but that a resource is a resource is a resource and that money is just a more flexible one."
• To be featured as a cancer survivor during the month of October, contact Neighbors editor Kim Andree at 523-2272 or kim.andree@juneauempire.com.