LOCAL CALENDAR GIRLS POSE FOR BREAST CANCER CAUSE.

Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer

When Margit Myl interviewed Colleen Shaffer for a book she was writing, the two women realized they were both pretty passionate.

Myl, a photographer fascinated with the human body, wanted to dispel some myths about beauty.

Shaffer, the founder of Circle of Hope and a two-time cancer survivor, wanted to dispel some myths about cancer.

The two ended up blending their passions to produce a calendar called ``Faces of Breast Cancer'' that will debut at the end of September, serving as a fundraiser for Shaffer's group that provides breast cancer patients with financial and emotional assistance.

The portraits included in the calendar will be presented from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday in a gallery setting at Barnes & Noble in Valencia.

One of the models is Jordana Capra, a breast cancer survivor who is also an actress and makeup and hair artist, and works with Shaffer on Circle of Hope.

Since she knew most of the models, their relationship and her coaching made for relaxed subjects that Myl found easy to shoot.

``She was a godsend,'' Myl recalled. ``We laughed and we cried.''

As Myl recently unwrapped an oversize print from the calendar for the upcoming Barnes & Noble show, Shaffer gasped and covered her mouth when she saw her image as a winged angel.

``It's gorgeous,'' she said. ``I look like I'm floating.''

Shaffer's image in the calendar is similar to one she has established throughout Southern California as the ``Angel of Hope,'' wearing pink from head to toe, including a hot-pink bobbed wig topped with a halo.

She regularly participates in breast cancer fundraisers such as the Revlon Walk, the Avon Three-Day and American Cancer Society Relay for Life, hoping to inspire others and teach them that breast cancer is a chronic disease and not a death sentence.

Models in the calendar have all had breast cancer and range in age from women in their mid-30s to those close to 70. There's also one man, personal trainer Larry Painter.

``He had a mastectomy at the Veteran's Administration hospital,'' Shaffer said. ``It's important to show that men can get breast cancer as well - 1,600 men in the U.S. will get breast cancer every year.''

Each model will have a statement printed in the calendar that will be shared during the gallery showing as well.

Kim Smith, a two-year survivor and the only African-American model, emphasizes that cancer is a taboo subject in the African-American community.

``It is not usually talked about because it is usually synonymous with death,'' she wrote in her statement for the calendar.

But the calendar images are anything but depressing and instead exude a sense of stamina, friendship and support. And there was room for levity during the calendar's creation, judging from two-time survivor model Pam Koch's comments.

``Being photographed for this event was actually fun. Although the subject is serious, there is room for laughter,'' she wrote.

Shaffer said the calendar is just one of the Circle of Hope's fundraisers that support breast cancer patients.

Copies of the calendar will be available at the Circle of Hope's next Theatrical Tea, which is scheduled Sept. 24-25.

On the first day, the event will consist of a brunch from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; on the second day, it will feature a formal afternoon tea.

Each will be held in Shaffer's garden and includes a three-course meal. Tickets are $40 per person.

Myl is proud of her first foray into the calendar world and promises to make next year's edition ``a little more risque'' to show some of the scars borne by survivors as badges of triumph over a deadly disease.

``If I can make other people feel beautiful, it rubs off on me,'' she said. ``I think I can bring out qualities they may not have thought they had.''

For information about Circle of Hope or to reserve copies of the calendar or tickets for the upcoming teas, call Shaffer at [phone].

Carol Rock, [phone]

carol.rock(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Angel of Hope executive director Colleen Shaffer looks at her photograph taken by photographer Margit Myl for a calendar featuring breast cancer survivors.

(2) Photographer Margit Myl, left, poses with some of the portraits she's taken that will be used in a calendar to benefit victims of breast cancer.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer