Breast cancer survivor turns forgotten path into neighborhood gathering space

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Aging Untold) — Karen Jenkins discovered a lump in her breast on her own — not through a mammogram. The diagnosis that followed was a shock.

“It was pretty scary,” Jenkins said.

Rather than letting fear take hold, Jenkins turned to her paintbrush and began transforming a forgotten easement in her quiet Anchorage neighborhood into a walkway lined with flowers, butterflies and a bright blue fence.

An art space built on connection

The walkway became a place for neighborhood children to leave handprint butterflies along the fence line, for families to walk through and for Jenkins to focus on creating something beautiful rather than exclusively on treatment.

“Every summer I try to add more to the fence way,” she said.

Katherine Ambrose, an aging-well coach and Aging Untold expert, said the connections Jenkins cultivated — with neighbors, children and families — can help people feel less alone while navigating health challenges.

“It’s really helpful to take a step back and focus on things that are really grounding and important for life,” Ambrose said. “For her to work with the children and just thinking about the impact that she had on people, but also the impact that it had on her life really gave her a shift of perspective.”

Nature as medicine

Ambrose said what Jenkins built carries benefits beyond aesthetics.

“Science shows that nature, animals, music are some of the best things to help people really connect and kind of calm the nervous system,” Ambrose said.

Jenkins, who has had several post-cancer summers to expand the walkway, described the space in her own terms.

“It just represents life and community and involvement,” she said.