Sporting a pink tutu, central Alberta resident Scott Carson headed off to the CIBC Run for the Cure in style.
About 600 people came together Sunday to make breast cancer beatable.
Carson and his friends had their matching tutus on for the occasion.
The Penhold resident walked the event for his mother, who was a breast cancer survivor. She died when she was 88, but not due to cancer, he said, before the walk/run started.
This was Carson’s second time at the CIBC event.
“It’s nice to get together, support the people and get out for a walk on a Sunday,” he said.
Red Deer residents Brenda McAllister and Sheila Willms were walking five kilometres for a close friend, also a breast cancer survivor.
The two have taken part in the event for about four years, to show support for their friend.
“You feel like you’re part of the community, especially for her, because she knows she is not the only one going through this kind of thing,” said McAllister.
Willms said she does more than one walk annually to help fight cancer. The tradition started more than a decade ago, when her sister, Rossanne Hisey, a Calgary resident, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
On Sunday, Red Deer was one of the 57 communities hosting the event coast to coast.
Devon Haley, communications lead for the CIBC Run for the Cure, said the event fundraises to allow people with breast cancer to live their lives as fully as possible. The money is also used for research.
The event has grown in Red Deer since it started about a decade ago, added Haley.
“It’s an inspirational day. So many people come together from the same community, whether it’s to fight against breast cancer or just being in the Red Deer area, to share their stories and connect with each other,” he said.
The fundraising goal for this year’s event is more than $92,000. About $84,000 was raised as of Saturday, confirmed Nicole Guday, annual giving officer with the Canadian Cancer Society.
“This is not concerning at all. Money still comes in even after the event,” she noted, adding just over $98,000 was raised last year.
Last year, about 700 people participated in the event.
Since the event began in 1992, the CIBC Run for the Cure has raised almost $445 million for breast cancer research and support.
One in eight women is expected to develop breast cancer in her lifetime, and on average, more than 70 Canadians will be diagnosed with breast cancer every day.
mamta.lulla@reddeeradvocate.com
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