Soul Survivors
By Cassaundra Brooks
When the oncologist who diagnosed Laura Fial with breast cancer instructed her to go home and come back with a positive attitude, Fial came back singing—literally. The professional jazz singer determined that not only was she going to survive breast cancer, but she was also going to inspire others to do the same.
The founding of the choral ensemble Soul Survivors, an ensemble of breast-cancer fighters and survivors, was a joint effort between Fial and her late friend Marilyn Nierenberg-Shaoul. True to the title of its first CD, the group’s music is “soothing the soul and healing the spirit” of many cancer patients.
Fial, a two-time survivor who had a single mastectomy, is one of at least twelve active members of Soul Survivors, but says that many others lend their time and talents to the group. Songwriter Scott Parsons was the first such donor, and he has not stopped. News personalities Mike Chamberlain and Chris Coraggio also have contributed, and Channel 12 consumer reporter Dave Cherry will appear on the next album.
Soul Survivors, however, is just one part of a larger cause—the Sing 4 Life Breast Cancer Foundation of Arizona, a nonprofit organization Fial cofounded in October of 2000. Volunteer Dr. Steven Chen heads the department that awards two annual scholarships in the memory of cofounder Nierenberg-Shaoul to cancer patients studying therapy.
Becoming part of the organization is simple—you can buy a sponsorship on the CD jacket for $50 to memorialize a loved one who is fighting, surviving, or has been lost to any form of cancer. Joining Soul Survivors is even simpler.
“If you’re a breast-cancer patient or survivor, you’ve made it into the group,” Fial says. “No need to audition.” And with upcoming nuptials, a thriving singing career, and a daughter in college, Laura Fial is just one of many inspirational stories, and one of fifty in the upcoming national publication The Healing Project: Voices of Breast Cancer .
To book Soul Survivors or get information on their fifth-anniversary CD coming out in October, call (602) 434-6567. For information on the Sing 4 Life Breast Cancer Foundation of Arizona, visit sing4lifebreastcancer.org.