‘Thrivers’ celebrate healing, survivorship
Courtesy of Sam Moatz
Sam Moatz, founder of 412Thrive, was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 23. The tattoos on her wrist honor those Thrivers lost to breast cancer.
Courtesy of Sam Moatz
Sam Moatz, fifth from left, and her Thrivers sport sunflower tees in the field of black-and-gold flowers Moatz and her husband Marc grow in their backyard in Whitehall.
A breast cancer diagnosis can be as lonely as the Fort Pitt Tunnels early on a weekend morning.
And Pittsburgh native Samantha Moatz, who now lives in Whitehall, knows firsthand how lonesome navigating breast cancer treatment can be.
After years of struggling to connect with other survivors, Moatz founded 412Thrive, a nonprofit dedicated to helping women of all ages, in all stages, through breast cancer diagnosis, treatment and survivorship. When she hosted the first wine and cheese night in March 2020 – a 10-person gathering at her home one week before the world shut down due to COVID-19 – Moatz didn’t anticpate that two years later, several counties including Allegheny and Washington would proclaim Tuesday, April 12, 412Thrive Day.
“It’s like a really big honor to me,” said Moatz, who attended the proclamation at the Washington County Courthouse April 7. “It’s crazy to think this nonprofit I started has a whole day in the cities.”
Also surreal is how quickly 412Thrive has grown. What began as a group of 11 Pittsburgh-area women meeting over Zoom for support and trivia nights during the pandemic has blossomed into a tribe of 260 Thrivers and “Previvors” – women at greater risk for cancer – who share milestones, fears and information with one another on Facebook and in person.
“412Thrive has just provided a platform to find people who have, or are going through, the exact same thing you are,” said Moatz. “Breast cancer survivors need other breast cancer survivors because our cancer is so specific.”
Community is something Moatz longed for when she was diagnosed more than a decade ago.
“At 23, I was told they just don’t exist my age. ‘You’re an anomaly.’ ‘It’s just you.’ ‘There’s not a lot of other women like you.’ So I didn’t really search for anybody at the time,” she said.
Instead, Moatz moved out of her apartment and into her sister Sherry’s house. She worked full time, underwent radiation and relied on her family for support.
“My husband’s amazing. My mom, my sister. I have such a great support system, but there was always just something missing. And it was the connection with other women who have gone through similar things.”
When she and her original Thrivers started delivering care packages locally during COVID-19, Moatz, a full-time mother of two, never imagined she’d someday proudly wear the title founder and executive director of 412Thrive.
“I had no plans on starting a nonprofit,” laughed Moatz. “We were like, yeah, we’re going to have to raise money to keep this going. The care packages are very expensive. That’s where the majority of our funding goes.”
Care packages contain bath bombs (every woman should enjoy a long, hot bath before a mastectomy, Moatz said) and larger items, like shower chairs and four-piece bed wedges, which help women recover after breast reconstruction surgery.
Along with community and care packages, 412Thrive empowers women with knowledge.
“There’s actually free insurance in Allegheny County for women with breast cancer. And I never knew that, so I dropped out of grad school to keep my insurance. Those are the things that 412Thrive lets these women know,” said Moatz. “There’s just a wealth of knowledge on our Facebook page.”
Though 412Thrive has touched the lives of nearly 300 local breast cancer survivors, Moatz is just getting started. She’s hosting a retreat for Thrivers this summer at Camp Lutherlyn in Butler County, and already has plans to expand the retreat next year.
Moatz is also seeking space for a monthly in-person support group, and hopes to start speaking at local schools.
“Another goal is to make sure that young women know that unfortunately, it can happen to us. It does happen to us. I know women who have been diagnosed stage four at the age of 18,” she said. “I kind of want to be a household name, and not in a selfish, I-want-to-be-famous kind of way, but because I want women to know about us … in case they need us.”
To spread the word and the love, 412Thrive is hosting its first 4-1-2 fundraiser this week. Tickets to the event at Mindful Brewing April 12 sold out within one week, but folks are welcome to donate any time through the nonprofit’s website https://www.412thrive.org/.
Moatz aims to raise at least $4,120 on April 12. Because the nonprofit is run by volunteers, all proceeds go directly to care packages and other services for local survivors.
“I just think our services are phenomenal, and I want women to find us as soon as possible. We’re for every stage of your diagnosis. From the beginning, when we give you care packages and are there for surgeries. But 10 years later, during survivorship, you’re still going to be going to your oncologist once a year. You’re still going to be having scan anxiety,” Moatz said.
She said community and education are the drivers behind 412Thrive.
“The friendships with these women – they have become my family,” Moatz said. “Every day, I go to my email, we have new women joining. I want individuals who need us to know that we exist.”