BUTLER TWP — Since Portersville resident Phyllis Schawaler founded the Butler Breast Cancer and Women’s Cancer Support Group in 1995 there have been only two women at the organization’s helm: Schawaler and Cheryl Schaefer.

Schaefer has been leading the group since 2000 — the same year she was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer and had her first mastectomy — after Schawaler pushed her to increase her leadership from part-time to full-time.

“She finally said, ‘Cheryl can you please take over the group,’” Schaefer said.

Schawaler died on July 21, 2009, nearly 15 years after she founded the group.

Since taking the reins, Schaefer, who is 57 and a disabled veteran and former nurse, has focused on organizing and sustaining the group, which is somewhat loose-knit by nature. Cancer patients and survivors often can’t make meetings because of health issues, scheduling conflicts or family issues.

But the group keeps growing, Schaefer said, and she continues to focus on finding the best combination of informative and cathartic activities for members.

Schaefer’s leadership is aided by her own experience as a cancer survivor who still undergoes testing and treatments after being diagnosed with stage four breast cancer in 2008 and undergoing a second mastectomy.

“It is an ongoing process that just becomes part of your life,” Schaefer said of her cancer diagnoses. “It is a bump in the road, I say. My road is just a little more bumpy than some.”

Schaefer said she draws strength and encouragement from her husband, Jeff, and son Mike. The pair assumed more responsibility around the house when Schaefer lost the full use of one of her hands after breaking her arm in a fall during her cancer treatment.

“My life has changed in ways I never thought it would, but I am here and I can still help others,” Schaefer said.

She said her experience has taught her that sometimes the best medicine can’t be found in a doctor’s office or hospital oncology department.

“Even though sometimes we cry, I try to bring laughter out because I truly feel that laughter is the absolute best medicine in the world,” Schaefer said.

But medicine and medical treatment do have a prominent place in the group with Schaefer presenting group members with a speaker every other month and leaving the month in between open for general discussion.

She tries to capture members’ attention and focus with experts who might shed light on problems or solutions that group members aren’t yet aware.

Schaefer said one topic in particular — lymphedema and the massage therapy some doctors use to treat the condition — sparked interest among group members after a presentation by Dr. Atilla Soran, a specialist in surgical oncology and lymphedema at Magee Women’s Hospital of UPMC.

“He so amazed my ladies and opened up so many eyes,” Schaefer said. “He is such a wealth of information.”

The massages can be used to treat the condition, which is an accumulation of fluid in patients who have had their lymph nodes removed as part of cancer treatment by helping the body drain away the excess fluid.

Schaefer said members also help each other with seemingly-simple tasks like finding certified fitting shops for bras and prosthetic breasts, as well as wig and hairpiece shopping.

“Finding a wig or a hairpiece is probably one of the worst things to do in Butler County,” Schaefer said.

Activities like nonstress yoga also have been a big hit with many of the group’s 75 members, who come from almost every walk of life. The group’s oldest member is 98; the youngest just 23, Schaefer said.

“We have some very unique dynamics with family situations,” Schaefer said. “Young mothers; mothers with young (children); grandparents with families living at home or caring for grandchildren.”

Some stay in contact with the group via phone when family commitments keep them away. Others are snowbirds and only active with the group during summer months. One thing never seems to change: more people always end up on the group’s roster.

“We are always gaining new members,” Schaefer said.

She keeps contact information for everyone in the group and works to connect members via e-mail — postcards for those who don’t have Internet access or aren’t tech-savvy enough for online interactions.

Schaefer said her own ordeal with cancer brought her closer to the people she loves and made her realize how dramatically life changes for those who are diagnosed with one of its many manifestations.

“Once you end up with breast cancer or any type of cancer, you look at things totally differently,” she said. “The small stuff means the absolute most. You just don’t take anything for granted. Everything is completely different.”

Those changes and struggles aren’t gender-specific, and so Schaefer said the group, despite its name, is open to anyone and everyone — from members’ children and spouses to men who are also struggling with their own cancer diagnoses.

“We welcome anyone,” Schaefer said. “We never have a hard time with people coming. We have no limitations. The more the merrier.”

Joining the group is as simple as going to one of its meetings, which are from 7 to 9 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month in the fourth floor waiting room at the Butler Health Systems Heart Center Building, 127 Oneida Valley Road.