The purpose of InspireHer is to inspire financial confidence in all women through education and impactful support. By giving women a platform to be curious, inspire and be inspired. This interview was conducted with Anne Zanola and outlines the incredible story of how The Breast Trivia Night Ever came to be. Our hope is that her story would inspire you and that you would see that she is a woman just like you and I, that chose to take her experience and together with her team, turn it into something beautiful.
Explain how The Breast Trivia Night Ever started and how it has evolved over the years into what it is now.
December 22, 2013, I received a call from my doctor that no one (much less a 29 year old) wants to receive. My doctor called to tell me that the biopsy results were back and that the results confirmed that I had breast cancer. My life and my priorities shifted in an instant … I went from a care-free, healthy, and active 29 year old to a 29 year old cancer patient about to undergo chemotherapy, double mastectomy, radiation, reconstructive surgery, hair loss, and more.
The first few weeks after my diagnosis were a mix of emotions – there was shock from my diagnosis, there was the burden of having to tell everyone I loved the news, there was devastation when I learned how extensive my treatment plan was going to be, there was fear of my treatment side effects, and there was the desire to wake up and realize it was all a bad dream. While so many emotions were swirling around in my head, the one emotion that I never felt was loneliness. From day one of my diagnosis through the hard days of treatment and surgery recoveries I never felt alone. Instead, I felt an overwhelming amount of support and love from my friends and family. Everyone was ready and willing to do whatever I needed.
At certain points the desire for people to help was almost overwhelming as I felt guilty if I could not think of something for people to do. After racking my brain on what people could do to help, I came up with an idea. I asked a group of 20 women who I was very close with to plan an end of chemo party for me! I wanted to have something fun to look forward to during the hard days of chemo side effects and I wanted an easy way for people to help me. From my idea, the hard work of the committee, and the support of many the “Breast Trivia Night Ever” was born.
The Breast Trivia Night Ever was held in May of 2014 at the 18th and final week of chemo and 2 weeks prior to my double mastectomy surgery. The event was a giant success as it profited $30,000 which was split between breast cancer research at Siteman Cancer Center and my unexpected medical expenses. I was thrilled for the money raised for Siteman and grateful to have assistance with my medical bills but the emotional support this event provided was priceless. I still remember the overwhelming feeling of joy while on stage the night of the event seeing a room packed full of my supporters. I will forever be grateful to everyone who allowed me to have such an amazing night in the middle of such a difficult time in my life!
Once the Breast Trivia Night Ever planning committee recovered from the hard work of planning an event for hundreds of people in just 3 months, we decided to continue the event as a way to pay it forward for other cancer patients. The 2nd and 3rd Annual Breast Trivia Night Event were third party fundraising events that raised money for breast cancer research at Siteman Cancer Center, wish granting at 3 Little Birds 4 Life and Fab-U-Wish, and financial assistance to breast cancer patients at Gateway to Hope. Because they were third party events, the committee planed every last detail of the event and it was a very big time commitment for everyone.
Due to the overwhelming amount of work that goes into planning third party events, the Breast Trivia Night Ever committee decided if we wanted to continue the event we needed to find a way to ease some of the stress off of the committee. Moved by the work that Gateway to Hope does supporting local women with the financial side of a breast cancer diagnosis, we approached the organization to see if they wanted to take on our event as an official Gateway to Hope sponsored event with our group serving as the committee. Thankfully Gateway to Hope was 100% on board with our idea and we worked with them to host very successful 4th and 5th Annual Breast Trivia Night Evers in 2017 and 2018. The committee is very excited to continue the partnership with Gateway to Hope in 2019 for our Sixth Annual Breast Trivia Night Ever.
To be able to help other breast cancer patients has been an amazing gift that would not be possible without the hard work of the committee of the Breast Trivia Night Ever and the staff of Gateway to Hope. This group of women allow me each year to have my “turning lemons into lemonade” moment and that it a gift that I do not take for granted.
Give a brief description of your job/organization.
I am a Vice President at the St. Louis office of Colliers International. Colliers International is a global full service commercial real estate company. I work on the brokerage side splitting my time between multi-market accounts and working with local industrial owners and users. I work very hard to ensure that my clients are getting the best possible service and moving their deal as quickly as possible through the steps of the transaction.
I enjoy my job because every transaction is unique, I work with an amazing team, and for a company that was beyond supportive to me when I underwent treatment for my breast cancer.
What do you like to do when you’re not at work?
Travel, socialize with friends and family, stay active, relax on a patio, or enjoy one of St. Louis’ many amazing parks especially Forest Park and Francis Park
What other charitable organizations are you involved in and for how long?
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri – 2 years
Kids Rock Cancer – 4 years
Visitation Academy Alumnae Association – 10 years
What is your favorite food and restaurant?
I live in South City and am lucky to have a lot of deliciousness within walking distance … my neighborhood favorites are the shrimp rigatoni from Trattoria Marcella, the baked house ricotta from Russell’s on Macklind, and the Christy sundae from Ted Drewes!
What is a fun fact most people don’t know about you?
I have been working on a new project that I am very excited about! A coworker and I both have amazing “littles” through Big Brothers Big Sisters but wanted to find a way to get more involved in the organization. So within the last year, we started working with the organization and a group of 15 other big brothers and sisters to help with big recruitment. It has been inspiring to work along other "bigs" and get more involved in the organization.
This post was written for InspireHer, Plancorp’s Women’s Initiative, which strives to advocate for clients and women in the community by addressing topics specific to their financial lives. For more information about InspireHer and how you can get involved, email inspireher@plancorp.com.
