DALLAS — Piled into one room in North Dallas, a group of women breathes life into a vision.
"We're Brighter Magazine. We are the first lifestyle magazine for women affected by cancer," said Dallas-based founder Helen Bowles who started the magazine after her friend Jean's struggle through ovarian cancer.
"A lot of these women are dealing with, 'I have to go to work and I want to feel beautiful.' 'I have to go to my son's PTA meeting and I don't want to stand out,'" she said. "These women need support getting through their day-to-day lives and that's what we're here for."
The articles in Brighter feature survivors and cover topics from mental health to fitness, beauty, spirituality and emotional well-being.
"We have doctors who write in a way we can all understand; We have survivors that write from firsthand experiences," Bowles explained.
Student volunteers like Jayna Dave contribute by writing and working on Brighter's website and social media.
"My grandmother was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer four and a half years ago. She passed away about six months ago," Dave said. "It was a few weeks after that that I decided to contact Helen and wanted to join the magazine."
Dave, 17, wrote a recent article exploring nail care during cancer.
"Cancer actually makes your nails thinner and a little weaker. It's totally fine to do nail polish but you need to be more careful," Dave said. "My grandmother loved fashion and actually nails like the article I wrote about. That was what inspired it."
Inspiration from the women they've lost to support present-day survivors, all while looking ahead for a cure.
"There's value in the research for the generations to come, but we also want to care for the generation now that's in the thick of it," Bowles said.
Brighter Magazine is free for survivors. They are distributed through oncologists' offices, treatment rooms or non-profits.
"We'd love for any woman diagnosed to be able to have access to this magazine," Bowles said.