Eleven breast cancer survivors in the Boulder Valley area have become “Bosom Buddies,” posing for a new calendar as a fund-raiser for the Boulder-based HealthLinks Foundation.

The women volunteered to be photographed to help raise awareness about breast cancer and, as they say on the calendar, to “celebrate our health, happiness and hope for the future.”

One of the women, Jennifer Hohfelder, is a long-time friend of mine who just lost her mother, Pat Jordan, to cancer. On her calendar month, August, where she posed with an art easel and wearing a beret, she quotes her father, Bill Jordan, a former columnist for the Daily Camera. “Through no fault of my own, I learned a lot about me in my 49th year,” Bill wrote. “I found out that I’m not such bad company, for one thing. I’m not afraid to be stuck with me.”

The calendars are being sold for $20 each and are available on the HealthLink Foundation’s Web site at healthlinksfund.org. HealthLinks provides financial support and outreach for cancer survivors and their families.

In addition to Jennifer Hohlfelder, the women participating in the calendar are Valerie Gillon Griffiths, Charmaine Miyoko Furukawa Palmer, Karen James, Karen Cunningham Marx, Terri Wolf, Kris Phillips, Shirley Mills, Ria Morgan, Cherie McCandless and Suzanne Phillips. Photographer David Schlatter donated his services for the photo shoots, and Mike’s Camera helped with the printing and production. Knock Your Socks Off, a Twenty Ninth Street Boulder retailer, was also a sponsor.