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The Pink Patch Project: Middletown police officer rallies two communities together to help a Berlin officer fight breast cancer

October is breast cancer awareness month. This year, one local police officer is bringing awareness to the cause, born out of a love for police patches, and ins...

October is breast cancer awareness month.

This year, one local police officer is bringing awareness to the cause, born out of a love for police patches, and inspiration from another fellow officer.

If you’re around Middletown, you may see the Middletown police officers wearing pink patches. They were brought to the Middletown Police Department by Officer Jason Bodell in support of the Pink Patch Project, which supports breast cancer research funding. For the month of October, you can buy one here at the police department as well for $10, and for a good cause:

For the month of October, men and women in blue at the Middletown Police Department are going pink in honor of Berlin Police Officer Aimee Krzykowski.

“I saw the amount of coverage Officer Aimee Kryzkowski got in Berlin PD. That was her second go-around with cancer. So she was basically my inspiration to want to do something,” says Officer Bodell.

Officer Kryzkowski is a two-time cancer survivor. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 and had a double mastectomy at 30 years old. Last year, she was re-diagnosed and started treatment again in October.

Now, she is back in the community working alongside her police partner Casner bringing awareness to breast cancer daily.

“When Officer Bodell contacted me and said he was doing this pink patch project and that I was his inspiration, it was a lot,” says Officer Kryzkowski.

But, she says, bringing the Pink Patch Project to Middletown was a perfect choice. “Police work is always the toughest. The big the bad the burly guys and to have them walking around with these pink patches on their shoulders, it really draws attention to them and it brings about interest in the cause.”

The proceeds from the pink patches are staying local. They are being donated to After the Storm, founded by Christine Willett after her experiences with breast cancer while she was pregnant in 2009. After the Storm helps offset the costs of therapies that often accompany traditional treatments, but that insurance doesn’t cover.

“So all of the money that is raised stays in our local community,” says Willett. “That’s where our survivors are. That’s where our friends; that’s where our families are.”

After the Storm has helped more than 7,500 women since 2009.

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