Bothell is full of many caring individuals. Nidhi Mehta Seth, Bothell resident and mother, recently hosted a dance-a-thon in Redmond to raise funds for cancer research.
Seth is from India, where women’s health issues are not part of public awareness, so she took it upon herself to raise awareness of cancer.
“I had heard about it and had supported other walkers’ fundraising [for the Susan G Komen three-day walk in Seattle] by donating, and I wanted to take the challenge and walk,” Seth said. “The more I heard about it the more I wanted to do it.”
First, she started doing small events to raise awareness among her Indian community, especially those of her family still back in India. Her main goal was to get women to start a conversation with their doctor about breast cancer, a goal she has reached a few times over.
“Growing up, I’d never heard anyone talking about breast cancer in India,” Seth said. “I don’t remember if my mom went for a mammogram or a checkup, or even if she was checking herself. At that moment, I heard about something and thought ‘if I do the walk maybe my aunts and cousins back in India will hear about it and will get more aware about…breast cancer.”
She feels that it’s still considered taboo to talk about breast cancer in India, but she’s making waves nonetheless.
“The whole intention is to be fit and healthy, while also talking about awareness of this disease,” Seth said. “I know now, [those back in India] know about it. They have started going to the doctors and asking these questions, which they were not asking about before.”
Not only has she been promoting awareness through events, she’s also organized fundraisers, such as the Dance in Pink hosted at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center, located on Northeast 80th Street.
During the three hour event, two and a half hours were spent dancing for a cure. The event had Zumba and Bollywood dancing, and included refreshments for dancers.
According to Seth, the first Dance in Pink in 2012, only 33 people attended. However, in 2015 tickets for the Dance in Pink event sold out in a matter of days, and more than 160 people attended the dance-a-thon.
“Its an experience in itself, and I love it – every moment of it,” Seth said. “Coming up with the whole idea of doing the flashmob, I had this whole idea to do the flashmob…at the end.”
At the end of the event, the flashmob spread out in a circle and made eye contact with each woman at the Redmond Schoolhouse, while the song ‘You are Amazing Just the Way You Are’ by Bruno Mars played in the background.
“The whole idea, the original idea I had in my mind…I thank my friends and all the flashmobbers [who] helped me achieve it,” Seth said. “Definitely seeing the whole vision come true, and seeing how happy we all were performing, and how happy the audience was, was great.”
Nearly all of the $2,500 raised at the Dance in Pink event benefitted the Susan G. Komen Foundation, an organization concentrating on finding a cure for breast cancer.
Seth is already working toward the next events to help raise awareness about breast cancer, including an upcoming three-day, 60-mile walk for a cure – her fourth annual three-day cancer walk – and planning next year’s Dance in Pink community event.
