Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Sussex on Sunday, Oct. 19 is a celebration of survivorship and an occasion to express hope and our shared determination to make this breast cancer’s last century.
The fight to end breast cancer starts with a single step. Take that step at the American Cancer Society Making Strides of Kent and Sussex Counties walk at Delaware Tech’s Owens Campus in Georgetown with hundreds of women, their friends and families.
Breast cancer survivor Joyce Rickards is one of them. Her team, “Second Chance Divas” is returning for its third year.
“I walk because cancer is so prevalent in my family,” Rickards says. “Getting the word out about the importance of screenings and early detection of breast cancer is the best defense against the disease. More than 50 percent of my immediate family has had some type of cancer.” Both of Rickards’ parents died of cancer, and two of her four siblings have battled cancer.
In December 2007, at age 48, Joyce was diagnosed with breast cancer thanks to an annual mammogram. “I had just completed 15 months of treatment for gastric cancer, so I was shocked,” she recalls.
Instead of finding herself out of the woods, Joyce had to cope with a new cancer diagnosis. She turned to the American Cancer Society, which helped her with transportation and support.
“You have to face a cancer diagnosis head on, but there’s so much help through the American Cancer Society. There are support groups where people can discuss the side effects of treatment. The society offers advice and counseling for the financial burden that cancer can create,” says Rickards, who is a frequent cancer speaker through the women’s ministry at her church.
“Walking in Making Strides is part of a sisterhood, to be together, to say we are here to make a difference,” she says. “We’re helping someone else going through breast cancer treatment. We’re fighting for younger women so they are screened and their breast cancer is caught early when it’s treatable.”
“The passion among our survivors and participants is incredible,” says Josette Castiglione, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event specialist. “The Kent and Sussex Counties Making Strides event is an inspiring opportunity to unite as a community to honor breast cancer survivors, raise awareness about what we can do to reduce our breast cancer risk, and raise money to help the American Cancer Society fight through research, information, services and access to mammograms for women who need them.”
Join Us-Register Now!
Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Kent and Sussex Counties
Sunday, Oct. 19, 2014
8:30 a.m. 5K Run, 9 a.m. 3-mile walk
Delaware Tech, Owens Campus
18800 Seashore Hwy., Georgetown
www.makingstrideswalk.org/sussexde
Contact: Josette.castiglione@cancer.org or (302) 827-4936
