The Button Chair

Video: The Story of the Button Chair

The Button Chair was created in 1998 as a tribute to all women - as well as their families, friends and support networks - who have battled breast cancer in North Carolina. Every button represents a unique story of courage and strength, each having belonged to a breast cancer survivor or someone who lost their battle with the disease.

The chair's creator, Brooke Kolconay Bryand, donated it for auction at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) Breast Cancer Golf Festival, where it raised $25,000 for the North Carolina Breast Cancer Endowment Fund. From that point forward, the Button Chair has been a focal point of BCBSNC's breast health initiatives, and since 2001 has been a key feature of the BCBSNC Foundation's Breast Health Project.

While the Button Chair is powerful enough to stand on its own, BCBSNC recognized the importance of adding more dimension to the stories behind each button. As a result, a mobile exhibit was created that has traveled across the state promoting breast health awareness.

After several years of being on the road, the Button Chair exhibit has undergone a complete renovation and will be re-introduced to the public in October 2006 (during Breast Cancer Awareness Month). The purpose of the new exhibit is to educate visitors about breast cancer, to encourage women to get mammograms and to deliver messages of hope from survivors who have overcome the disease.

The new display is a dynamic, interactive experience highlighted by the glass enclosed Button Chair and four hands-on, educational kiosks. Two of the exhibit's kiosks contain touch-screen monitors with programming featuring breast cancer facts, resources and information concerning mammograms, including how, where and when to get screened. Also highlighted are the top-10 reasons women do not get mammograms and suggestions to combat those barriers.

The exhibit's featured elements are video stories of hope, as five North Carolina women (representing Asheville, Durham, Greensboro, Raleigh and Wilson) share their stories of detection, treatment and survival. These uplifting accounts reveal how the disease has touched each woman's life, and the lives of their families. One of the stories is told in the survivor's native Spanish and all information featured on the touch-screens is available in both English and Spanish.

The exhibit's other two kiosks include information on mammograms and breast exams and specific details about the Button Chair, including stories behind specific buttons. Beads depicting lump sizes detectable by self-exam as well as those detected through mammography are featured. Also included is a mammogram providing visitors the opportunity to view a cancerous mass.

Beginning in early 2007, the Button Chair will be available free of charge to organizations interested in hosting the exhibit at a public space or community event. To request the Button Chair, please contact Kellan Chapin(Kellan.Chapin@bcbsncfoundation.org). You must also submit an online request four weeks prior to your event. Appearances will be scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Requirements for hosting the Button Chair exhibit:

• In order to have the Button Chair at your event or venue, it must be a public event or location that is expected to attract at least 150 people.
• The venue must be secure in order to prevent theft, mishandling or vandalism of the exhibit. The exhibit must remain on display at the venue for at least one week, but typically no more than two. There is no charge to have the chair at one of your events (see agreement in reference to damage fees).
• The exhibit must not be handled by anyone other than the BCBSNC Foundation's professional installers.
• The exhibit cannot be placed flush against a wall, as it is a "pass-through" exhibit to allow for viewing from all sides and usage of the interactive computer program.
• Electricity is required. The chair itself (central exhibit) sits on a platform that is enclosed with Plexiglas® on all four sides. The central exhibit is lighted and includes a kiosk on each side. Three of the four kiosks can be removed if you have space limitations. The exhibit needs to be on level ground.
• The central exhibit is 8 feet tall. It can be displayed with one, two, three or four of the kiosks, depending on the space available. Ideal dimensions for the exhibit are 11 ft. x 11 ft. or 8 ft. x 16 ft.