family focus

FREE FOR ALL!

General admission to the Detroit
Institute of Arts is free for residents of
Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE!

Pianist Gleb Ivanov performs masterpieces
from Russian piano literature.
Rivera Court, 7 & 8:30 p.m.
Margo Rosenthal and Claudia Drilich, both of West Bloomfield, hosted a
Boob Voyage party for Margo, who will have a breast removed because of
breast cancer.

Boob Voyage

Bon voyage party puts positive

spin on diagnosis of breast cancer.
| Ronelle Grier
| Contributing Writer

hile a diagnosis of breast

cancer and an upcoming mastectomy would
stymie many people, my sister, Margo
Rosenthal, is not so easily thwarted.
Known for her often irreverent
sense of humor and ability to put a
positive spin on the most dismal situation, Margo decided to face the challenge with a Boob Voyage party.
She and her bosom buddy, Claudia
Drilich, known for their fabulous
holiday fetes, invited about 40 women
to their West Bloomfield home on
Sunday afternoon, Dec. 28, to provide
friendship, good wishes and support.
The only caveat was no shivah faces
Margos way of saying she wants
people to talk openly about her situa-

Inspirational messages accompanied

breast-themed edibles like these
mamm-o-grahams.

tion, without whispering and tiptoeing

around.
Its OK to say the word cancer; its
a reality, but its not a death sentence,
said Margo, who believes her years of
practicing yoga have helped her maintain an attitude of non-attachment
regarding the loss of her breast. If
thats what it takes to save my life, its a
no-brainer.
The standard holiday celebration
took a different twist with a festoon of
hand-decorated brassieres and other
adornments and a sumptuous spread
of breast-themed goodies provided
by their favorite caterer, JN columnist
Annabel Cohen.
The buffet table included cupcakes
topped with nipple-like frosting, mini
chicken-breast kabobs and a variety of
chalkboard signs with messages such
as Spread smiles, not cancer and
Where theres life, theres hope.

Serious Disease
Margo explained the party was her
way of putting a positive spin on a
rather grim subject, but emphasized
she was not making light of this serious disease. Claudia echoed these
sentiments in a speech she gave to welcome the guests.
Today is not because we are jumping up and down with joy, Claudia
said. It is to support our most favorite
girl, Margo, and to promote the positive side of a very serious and frightful
interruption that can and has occurred
in many of our lives.
She urged all of the women present to take care of their breasts by
scheduling mammograms and other
necessary exams, especially because
Boob Voyage on page 34

FAMILY FUN
Karagiozis Shadow Puppet Show
A form of folk puppetry originating in Greece called
Karagiozis, featuring a title character of the same name.
Presented in partnership with the Detroit Hellenic Museum.

Lecture Hall, 2 p.m.

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Open captioned performance 8PM Jan. 19.

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Boob Voyage from page 33

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Jewish women of Ashkenazi descent

have a higher rate of the genetic
mutation (BRCA 1 and 2) known to
increase the risk of breast and ovarian
cancer. While genetic testing showed
that Margo does not carry the BRCA
mutation, it appears in about one in 40
Ashkenazi Jewish women compared to
about one in 400 women in the general
population.
Many of the women who came to say
Boob Voyage were breast cancer survivors, with varying histories ranging
from several months to 28 years. Other
guests had been touched by the disease
through family members and friends.
This is a celebration of life, said
Kay Tulupman of Bloomfield Hills, our
aunt and a seven-year breast cancer
survivor. Its a lovely event, and it
shows how many people care about
Margo. The truth is, 50 years ago,
nobody would have gone near her.
Cheryl Golding of Bloomfield Hills,
a five-year survivor, talked about the
importance of support to someone
going through this experience.
Beauty comes from within the
person, not from the breast, she said,
and Margos so upbeat and happy. She
has so much positive energy.
On the way out, guests helped
themselves from a basket of mammo-grahams, edible souvenirs made
of graham crackers and frosting in a
breast motif.
What a beautiful way to balance
the serious message of cancer with the
celebration of appreciating the moment
amidst the love and support of our
friends, said Julie Silver of Royal Oak.
The guests agreed the event was a
unique and optimistic approach to
a difficult situation, including Judy
Metzger, a friend from Farmington
Hills, who loved the concept of the
party and the souvenir mamm-ograham.
Theres nothing like a group of
girlfriends to get you through a hard
situation, said Rochelle Adler of West
Bloomfield.

Just Baked
To Close
10 Locations

ust Baked, a cupcake shop

owned by Pam Turkin of
Farmington Hills, said last
week it is closing all but four of its
stores. The franchises in Southgate,
Canton, Southfield and Ann Arbor
will remain open.
The company is closing 10 stores,
seven in Michigan and three in Ohio.
Over the past six years, Just Baked
has enjoyed taking part in many celebrations and events in and around
Metro Detroit, Turkin said in a
statement. After carefully evaluating
our business operations, and how
best to move forward as a successful
company, weve determined to close
all of the corporately run locations.
All customer commitments for event
cakes and cupcakes orders will be
honored.
Turkin started Just Baked in 2008
after seeing the popularity of cupcake shops popping up on the coasts,
according to the companys website.
Previously, she was the vice president
of marketing for Orlando, Fla.-based
Krunchie Corp.
Just Baked quickly expanded and,
in 2013, was ranked in Inc. Magazine
as the 1,011th fastest-growing private
company in America with three-year
growth of 426 percent. The company
had annual revenues of $3 million
and 70 employees in 2012, up from
$573,606, and 10 employees in 2009.
A spokesman for the company told
the Detroit Free Press that he believed
the brand and product was still viable and closings would give the owners and management of the closely
held company time to regroup and
decide what to do next.
Its our hope to keep the brand
alive, he said.
According to Turkin, Change is
never easy, and we want to especially
thank all of the loyal employees,
customers, partners and friends that
have been with us from the beginning. We are working hard on the
right recipe for the future growth of
Just Baked.