Conquering Breast Cancer with a Smile

At the age of twenty-six, breast cancer was the furthest thing from Dr. Bridget Glazarov’s mind. With her dental residency completed, Bridget was focused on starting her career as a dentist in New York City, a dream she’d had since she was sixteen years old. “I quickly saw that this was a field where I could combine my love for artistry and passion for helping others feel like their best selves, by giving patients the gift of a beautiful and healthy smile.” But despite her intentions, Bridget’s career plans were about to be put on hold in a way that would change her life forever.

“When I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer at 26 years old, everyone around me thought it was a fluke, how could someone so young have breast cancer?” Bridget says. Even her doctor assumed that the lump she had found was nothing to worry about prior to proper imaging. However, after thorough testing, Bridget was diagnosed with Stage III Breast Cancer and began chemotherapy, radiation, and surgical treatment for invasive breast cancer in 2018 at NYU. Luckily for Bridget, her treatment was a success and she can now proudly say she is a proud cancer survivor. 

Bridget and Christina’s Pink Party Charity shirt design.

Now, on the other side of her battle, Bridget has a new passion aside from her successful dentistry career. Together with fellow organizer Christina Carmona, she is working to spread hope and awareness for all women affected by cancer, whether they’re currently battling the disease, survivors or even previvors.

In order to help spread their message, they put together the Pink Party Charity event in honor of NYU and all of the medical professionals there who helped in Bridget’s care and recovery. “My team of doctors ranging from multiple surgeons, to my oncologist and radiologist saved my life, and I could not think of a better charity partner to work with. NYU holds a very special place in my heart, not only is it the institution that saved my life, but It is also where I completed my dental school degree and made many lifelong memories.”

For their charity event, Bridget and Christina worked to design a shirt that would inspire and uplift the cancer community. “We wanted a special gift that could work for everyone, what better than a t-shirt?” she says. They chose a comfortable Hanes 100% Cotton t-shirt to showcase their design, and used a bubblegum font from Christina’s company Island to East Side to highlight five words they felt would represent everyone who had been affected by cancer—Fighter, GirlBoss, Thriver, Survivor, Previvor.

A pink clutch from Island to East Side

“It is important for me to spread awareness so that young women can advocate for themselves and get checked out properly if they feel any suspicious lumps or bumps.” Bridget says. “It is not a disease that only affects you when you’re older, nor do you need to have genetic predisposition to have it. I was BRCA negative, my family never had a history of breast cancer, but here I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Triple Positive Breast Cancer.”

Bridget’s goal in life is to bring smiles to everyone around her, both through her work as a dentist and her work to spread awareness of breast cancer, because she knows that a smile, as well as some uplifting custom gear, can give people the courage and fearlessness they need to carry on.