NORFOLK, Va. — The color pink helps illustrate Kim Keene's love of painting.
“It relieves my stress,” Keene said. "It puts me in that happy place, which I think is bound to help.”
It also helps paint a picture about her mindset.
“You’ve got to have that positive attitude,” she said.
The Norfolk artist is battling breast cancer for the second time. This time, it’s Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer.
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WTKR first introduced you to Keene two years ago at her restaurant, Starving Artist Cafe.
Since then, she has sold the café, and recently, is getting positive results in her journey.
“All tumors are shrinking. I couldn’t ask for anything better,” Keene said.
She's also created a new nonprofit, "Paint Pink Inc.," and is raising money through art to help support and provide services for others in their journey.
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“I needed my house cleaned. I wanted my yard done. I feel bad, but I had never had a will done,” Keene said. “With these things, I really wanted to provide those services for our local people. If we can help relieve some of that stress, it’s bound to help, I would think, on their recovery or dealing with cancer.”
Caryn West, an attorney with Parks Zeigler, is Keene's neighbor and a fellow breast cancer survivor.
She's providing free legal services, including wills, through the nonprofit.
“Once you get your will done, it’s a sense of relief,” West said. “I think giving back to people who are going through something that I’ve gone through just makes you feel good.”
Keene and others are helping Amy Rowley, a Suffolk woman who's been battling inflammatory breast cancer.
“I’m ready to just take it on,” Keene said. “We’ve had meals delivered since June. I definitely wouldn’t have been able to do any of it without all of the support that I’ve had.”
Watch Previous Coverage: Artist battling Stage 4 breast cancer raises thousands for breast cancer awareness
She and her sister, Sara Hipple, said Keene is an inspiration. And both believe Keene, like the color pink, is a bright sense of hope.
“You just never want to hear the word ‘cancer,’ and how it impacts people, it’s just such an awful disease,” Hipple said. “It keeps you strong, and I can’t say how much I appreciate what she’s doing.”
Keene says she'll be holding three art shows this month with all proceeds going to her organization.
The first event will be at Starving Artist Café on Friday, Oct. 6, from 6 to 8 p.m. The second event will be at Elation Brewing on Friday, Oct. 13, from 6-10 p.m. The third and final event for the month will be at d’Art Center on Thursday, Oct. 26, from 5:30-8 p.m.
Click here if you’d like to learn more about Keene's organization, including ways to support and donate.
