Dan's Papers - October 31, 2008

Lisa Levitin was a long-haired beauty, sitting on top of the world, when she first launched her clothing line, Asparagus Beach, in 2007. In a sunshine drenched photo in Hamptons Magazine that summer, she was labeled one of the "Faces of the Hamptons." Asparagus Beach was hailed as a brilliant idea by locals and longtime Hamptonites, who caught the clever reference to Atlantic Beach in Amagansett. For decades, Atlantic has been nicknamed Asparagus Beach, a nod to the tall and lanky figures that cast shadows on the water. Made from super soft Peruvian cotton and intended for a niche market of in-the-know East Enders, Asparagus Beach seemed destined for success that summer. Levitin's professional career was just taking off, and she had the boxes of brand new t-shirts and tank dresses to prove it. That's when breast cancer reared its ugly head.

The week after Levitin officially launched Asparagus Beach, she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer, which meant the tumor was relatively large and the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. With her businesses just about to hatch, she began the painful, frightening journey towards recovering her health. From surgery to chemotherapy to radiation, she battled for months. At first, she felt isolated and afraid, as many women do. Her business, of course, went to the back burner, and her life became consumed with this fight. But Levitin didn't remain in isolation for long. She sought out the support that existed in the community, through organizations like Ellen's Well, which brings outreach and support to breast cancer survivors here on the East End (ellensrun.org). With the help of counselor Edyle O'Brien, Levitin found inner strength she didn't know she had. Then she looked further, discovering the Young Survivor Coalition (youngsurvivor.org), which is for women under 45 years old, who have very different concerns than women in their 50s and 60s. She joined the national organization Amazon Heart (amazonheart.org), which empowers survivors by organizing and executing exciting journeys all over the world. This past September, she helped raise awareness and expand her system of support by joining a group of survivors who rode Harley Davidsons from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Harley Davidson donated the bikes, and more than 20 fearless women took to the roads to prove to themselves and the world that cancer was not going to keep them from living. "A lot of girls in this group never thought they'd live to see the next year," Levitin said. "You don't think you'll be able to find your strength but you do. You need support when you're going through something like this."

Levitin struggled with the hardships of treatment with the support of these organizations. And the hardships were many. It wasn't only the more obvious things, like the pain and the lifestyle changes. As someone who had always been attached to her long hair, it was very difficult when it began to fall out. "It's one of the biggest things that people don't talk about enough," she said. "So many women are so attached to their hair. Hair relates directly to your female side and your sexuality. It bares you down to your soul to lose your hair. Just when you think it can't get worse, you start losing your eyelashes. When I went back to businesses about Asparagus Beach, I was losing eyelashes."

But return to Asparagus Beach she did. She was not about to give up on the business she believed in. By February of 2008, she began going to stores around town to pitch her line. And in a way, she was more driven than she ever had been before. "Asparagus Beach gave me hope," Levitin said. "It gave me something to look forward to. To have this business born and see it crystallize has been so exciting."

Levitin doesn't spend her time feeling sorry for herself. She has taken her illness and used it to change her lifestyle for the better. She gave up eating meat, started cultivating a spiritual practice, and became more deeply involved with yoga. "I choose not to live in fear any more," she said. And it seems she's too busy to have her days compromised by fear. With the holidays coming up, Asparagus Beach is stocking up with cozy items like alpaca wool Peruvian sweaters lined with fleece and organic cotton sweatshirts. And she and her partners are planning the Summer 2009 line, with new bathing suit styles and beachwear. When asked how her health is now, she said simply, "Right now my cancer is gone. I pray to God it will never come back." And Levitin, now a short-haired beauty, keeps focused on her goal - to make sure she doesn't waste any of her precious time paralyzed by fear.