Giving Back

It all started when…

In June of 2016, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a double mastectomy with reconstruction. So how did a nonprofit organization emerge from my story when it is really no different whatsoever from so many other women?

I am a Plastic Surgeon and a routine part of my practice is breast reconstruction. When I was the one on that side of the fence…when the doctor becomes the patient…reality has a way of opening your eyes to many things that could be done differently. I pledged when I came through surgery that I would do whatever it takes to make a difference for all patients facing this diagnosis. BoobieQue was born from that desire to make a difference.

4 months after my surgery, with the help of an army of angels, BoobieQue was launched as a means of raising funds for 2 existing breast cancer support organizations, Cancer Care Services and the National Breast Cancer Foundation. We did not realize when this adventure started what was on our horizon. The success of BoobieQue was beyond what any of us imagined. We raised $85,000 in one afternoon…at an event that was literally organized in 6 weeks. It suddenly became apparent to those of us intimately involved in producing this event that we had the capacity to do much more and to do it for more causes than we originally intended.

Breast cancer has tremendous awareness and support in every community; resources abound for patients and their families. Our hope as we discussed what we thought we were capable of was to extend our range to a wider scope of women’s issues: all types of female cancers, women’s issues not related to a cancer diagnosis, domestic issues that affect women. Is our goal ambitious? Perhaps. We feel confident we are more than capable.

In our community, BoobieQue is well known after our inaugural event. For that we are grateful beyond description and pledge that this will be an annual event to raise funds for breast cancer related issues. As we started the process of filing for our nonprofit certificate, we decided that if the name of our organization was BoobieQue it would not be reflective of our desire to expand our reach to issues beyond the breast. Fighting Right denotes our desire to expand our scope and fight for the myriad of women’s issues that need attention. 

We hope to be known as the nonprofit that hosts the best parties and raises the most money for the most deserving causes. Stick with us: I think you’ll be glad you did and I know those who will benefit from our efforts will be.

Emily McLaughlin, MD, FACS

West Magnolia Plastic Surgery, PA

Breast cancer survivor and co-founder, Fighting Right