Pink Glimmers Foundation
About
Our Mission
To educate, empower and support women facing breast reconstruction due to breast cancer or a genetic mutation.
Our Vision
To provide financial assistance for restorative 3D nipple tattooing for patients in South Florida.
To recognize and celebrate Breast Reconstruction Awareness Day.
To support educational programming on general breast health, cancer screening and breast cancer.
To advocate for policies and legislation that support better insurance coverage for all aspects of breast reconstruction, including aesthetic flat closure, revision surgeries and 3D areola and nipple tattooing.
To establish and support the Breast Reconstruction Fund at the Department of Plastic Surgery at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami.
Board of Directors
Jennifer Stearns Buttrick
Kara Stearns Sharp
Cristiana Barcenas
Jennifer Stearns Buttrick
Jennifer Stearns Buttrick is an attorney, wife, and mom to three boys, who are somehow now all adults.
Jennifer was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2006, two days after giving birth to her third child. That was when Jennifer discovered the importance of academic medicine, second opinions, and patient advocacy. Since her first cancer diagnosis, Jennifer has counseled many people diagnosed with cancer. She serves on the Board of Governors of Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami and on The Advisory Board of the Dolphins Cancer Challenge, the largest fundraising event in the NFL which raises funds for Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.
In 2025 Jennifer was diagnosed with breast cancer and quickly received an education on breast reconstruction. She was surprised at how little she knew about this process despite being immersed in the cancer world for almost two decades.
Jennifer’s breast cancer was caught early, giving her options for surgery and treatment. Jennifer made the very personal decision based on her individual circumstances to have a skin sparing double mastectomy in May 2025 with a two-phase implant-based reconstruction using tissue expanders. The expanders were slowly filled, and in August 2025 the tissue expanders were replaced with permanent implants. In March 2025, she completed reconstruction with 3D restorative nipple and areola tattoos. This final phase was the cherry on top of a long process, that made her feel fully healed. The emotional response to completing this process was overwhelming and quite powerful.
Through this process, Jennifer came to realize a few things:
- Not every breast cancer patient has access to all the information they need regarding breast reconstruction;
- Most people know nothing about breast reconstruction; and
- Breast cancer and breast reconstruction is expensive, even if you have excellent health insurance.
Jennifer decided to establish the Pink Glimmers Foundation to educate and support patients dealing with breast reconstruction.
Shakespeare famously wrote “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” So, as I contemplated naming the Pink Glimmers Foundation, I was grounded in what I wanted to accomplish, recognizing that it is the work that matters. But, branding and names are important so here is my reasoning:
Pink: A color that comes in many shades, from moody, to vibrant to playful to calming, but more importantly an unmistakable tie-in to breast cancer.
Glimmers: Small moments of joy, that can be found every day, even during the most difficult times. My mantra during my breast cancer journey is to “find the glimmers” every day, even on the hardest days. Some days it is a beautiful sunrise, or the coffee my husband brings to me as I awaken, or a beautiful bird alighting so I get a the perfect glimpse, or a nurse who is particularly skilled at a blood draw or the surgeon who inspires confidence so you know you are in the best medical hands, or the medical tattoos at the end of a long reconstruction journey that made you feel complete. These glimmers can sustain us, even on very hard days.
The Pink Glimmers Foundation hopes to provide glimmers of hope and joy to others facing breast reconstruction.
We love words so came up with an acronym:
