By Brooke Hall
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
The American Cancer Society hosted its 24th annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in Baltimore at the M&T Bank Stadium this past Saturday, drawing over 400 women with breast cancer to sign up and raise money against the disease.
Janet Galloway, a Towson University alumna, who has been cancer free for two years, said Saturday’s Walk was a great way of trying to find a cure for the disease.
“It’s important to me because I want to help women and hopeful help find a cure for future generations to come,” Galloway said.
Galloway said these walks are an important thing for people who can’t afford treatments. She said finding a cure is especially important to her now because she is a grandmother to newborn twin girls.
Kristen Fernandez, a breast surgeon at St. Agnes Hospital, said that women need to start checking for lumps in their early twenties. Typically, mammograms don’t start until a woman is 40 years old and occur once a year.
Fernandez has been coming to this walk for five years. She said she is surprised that so few women know what to do when it comes to self-checks, adding that this event helps spread awareness about warning signs and ways to help women check themself.
“It’s a survivable disease; the earlier you find it the better your chances of survival are,” Fernandez said.
Volunteer Alena Tenerowicz said she has been a continuous donor to breast cancer research and loves helping at the annual walk.
“Getting to see how much being a survivor means to people is really fulfilling,” Tenerowicz said. “It gives me a lot of hope for the future.”
This event is meant to empower women and radiate light on those who have fought hard and are continuing to fight this disease every day, Tenerowicz said.
The event was held to raise awareness of breast cancer, and every dollar raised goes to support critical research, education, advocacy and patient services, according to the official Making-Strides website.
The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk raised a total of $361,399.
The Making Strides Movement was organized by the cancer society in its effort to fund cancer research in the hopes of finding a cure.
The event had sponsors and vendors from local Baltimore companies that have donated and pledged support to the cause. Some of these included Maryland Live Casino, BGE, CareFirst, St. Agnes Hospital and Maryland Oncology Hematology.
Survivors and current fighters were there with their friends and family, making this event lively and positive.
The walk started at 9 a.m. and went around M&T Bank Stadium, through the gates at Camden Yards Park and then back around to Eutaw Street where the main event of vendors and tents was located. Participants could walk between 1.5 and 3 miles depending on the route they took.
At the entrance to Camden Yards there were volunteers who were cheering when everyone went past. The energy was electric from the family, friends, current people battling cancer and survivors as they all walked by.
Volunteers started at 7 a.m. to set up and help get things situated so that the event ran smoothly once families started to arrive. In a big white tent located right in front of M&T Bank stadium there was a station to give women fighter sashes, do pink glitter tattoos and put on pink face paint to add to the pink theme.
October is breast cancer education and awareness month. The American Cancer Society partners with the NFL and many organizations throughout the year because of their continued support to fight to find a cure.
One in eight women will get breast cancer in their lifetime, making this a disease that so many women fear.