7,000 take steps to cure cancer
Published: October 31, 2005
Among the 7,000 walkers gathered at Temple Beth El early yesterday, Lucille R. Leli of Springfield donned a white satin sash with the word “SURVIVOR” sprawled across the front in soft-pink glitter and seemed to float on air.
“This is love and this is support,” said 48-year-old Leli, a breast cancer survivor of six months.
Leli was one of thousands of breast cancer survivors, their friends and loved ones who participated yesterday in Rays of Hope - A Walk Toward the Cure for Breast Cancer.
The walk through Forest Park, which began and ended at Temple Beth El at 979 Dickinson St., raised $600,300 yesterday, according to Baystate Health’s public affairs manager Keith J. O’Connor. O’Connor said that figure is likely to rise over the coming weeks as proceeds from the walk continue to flow in.
The funds are used to support Baystate Medical Center’s Comprehensive Breast Cancer Center and the breast cancer care centers at Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield, Mary Lane Hospital in Ware and other community projects.
Yesterday, Dr. Grace Makari-Judson, medical director of the breast cancer center at Baystate Medical Center, said the fund-raiser benefits local women with breast cancer in many ways.
“All of the money stays right here in Western Massachusetts, and that’s what is so wonderful about this fund-raiser,” she said.
Makari-Judson said funds raised through the walk are used for everything from paying for services that provide soothing comforts to women undergoing chemotherapy treatments to contributing to the breast cancer research done at the biomedical research institute in Springfield.
Breast cancer research, she said, has been given a priority status at The Baystate Medical Center-University of Massachusetts at Amherst Biomedical Research Institute.
Such research is critical for discovering successful treatments and ultimately a cure for breast cancer, Makari-Judson said yesterday.
“Certainly science keeps making small steps forward,” she said.
Yesterday, music trumpeted from speakers placed throughout the Temple Beth El parking lot as thousands of walkers mingled and munched on everything from doughnuts to grilled hamburgers before the walk started at 10:30 a.m.
Clustered near the registration table, a team of walkers who called themselves “Sisterhood - Rosa’s Angels” marveled at the turnout.
“It’s pretty emotional for me because my sister Rosa McConnell was 49 years old when she passed away with breast cancer,” said Mary A. Russell of Springfield.
Leli and her team, who walked under the name of “Luella’s Challenge,” talked and laughed before starting the walk. Last week, the group collected close to $18,000 at a fund-raiser they held at Hob Nob Cafe on Chestnut Street in Springfield, Leli said.
Linda L. Fawcett, chairwoman of the fund-raiser, said grassroots efforts such as “Luella’s Challenge” reached record proportions this year.
“Everyone is working together to help our friends, neighbors and loved ones here in Western Massachusetts,” she said, adding that about 7,000 walkers participated in yesterday’s event.
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