Real sisterhood of traveling pants, bound by breast cancer

Two years ago, Shannon Kegebein's little sister, Stephanie, was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer. She was just 30. "I didn't know it could happen to anyone that young," says Shannon. "She had just finished school to become a registered nurse and had only been working for four months."

In a short time Stephanie went from energetic working mother of two to wheelchair-bound patient, in need of constant care. Shannon, 39, felt helpless watching her little sister's health deteriorate.

One day, while going through her closet, she found a pair of Stephanie's jeans. They didn't fit Shannon, but just before she threw them out a lightbulb went off in her brain. "I had just finished watching 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants' and I thought what if I took these jeans and sent them to other stage four breast cancer patients to sign."

Through the Young Survival Coalition and breastcancer.org, Shannon put the world out to women under 50 battling late stage cancer, who may be interested in participating in the project.

The response was overwhelming and Stage 4 Traveling Pants was born.

Stephanie, based near Brighton, Michigan, was the first to sign them. She sent the denims along with a photo and a letter to Lisa Collins in Destin, Florida. Since 2009, the jeans have bounced between Maryland, Texas, New Jersey, Minnesota and at least nine other states. Each woman who signs them includes her date of diagnosis, along with notes and photos for future pants-ers to read. One recipient took them to the beaches of the Jersey Shore for a photo shoot, another scrawled a message of hope on the leg: "Don't forget we are strong."

As the jeans fill with messages and signatures, Shannon hopes to foster a sense of community between young women in the late stages of breast cancer, as well as raise awareness about the risks. "My sister was 28, 29 and this thing was growing in her body," says Shannon, "but nobody believes it can happen to someone that young."

In fact 7 percent of women with breast cancer are under 40. Because of breast tissue density in young females, the cancer is particularly hard to diagnose. It's also often more aggressive and difficult to treat in pre-menopausal women.

After suffering from back pain, Stephanie was told she had a muscle disorder, caused by her stressful, long nursing shifts, when in fact she was suffering from a tumor that had cracked several vertebrae in her spine. A few months later, when she collapsed in the shower, and was rushed to the hospital, doctors discovered the breast cancer quickly growing in her body. Two years later, Stephanie's cancer has spread to her liver.

Of the almost twenty women who've signed the traveling pants so far, five has passed away. Shannon hopes the jeans will serve as a place of inscription and way to preserve their memory. "It's something they can touch and feel, that can't be taken away," she says. More recently, she began including a video camera in her pants package so recipients can document their lives with the jeans and ultimately be a part of a larger video project.

In the meantime, the worn and tattered, graffiti-covered denims serve as a unique symbol of breast cancer awareness, in a sea of pink ribbons.

"The pink ribbon has brought awareness in the biggest way we could possibly imagine, and I'm grateful for that," says Shannon, who displayed the pants this month at Lee Jeans' breast cancer awareness month fundraiser. "But there's nothing pink and soft and pretty about stage four breast cancer. It's constant x-rays, scans and broken bones and praying to be around for your children. I wanted a symbol that was more raw and real, something that would show these women are fighting for their lives."

Check out the gallery below for a look at where the pants have been and the women who've added color to their fabric along the way.
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