'Celebrating survivors': Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk draws thousands to Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH — In 1984, Massachusetts breast cancer survivor Margie Gould Rath wanted to celebrate fellow survivors by raising funds for the American Cancer Society.

She created a walking event that grew in popularity over the next decade. But it wasn’t until September 1993 that it officially became known the ACS’ Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk.

Since then, the event “has inspired millions of people in the Strides events in communities across the country, raising approximately $1 billion to support breast cancer research, patient programs, as well as direct services,” Susan Shaw, ACS' senior executive director in North Central Florida, said in an interview.

As in cities across the country, the walk has become a staple in Daytona Beach, where thousands of people dressed in pink — many of whom are breast cancer survivors themselves — bring awareness to the disease and pay tribute to loved ones lost to breast cancer by marching along Beach Street.

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That was once again the scene in Daytona Beach on Saturday. A 3- to 5-mile non-competitive walk “that collectively has grown into the nation’s largest and most impactful breast cancer movement,” Shaw said.

Participants began arriving at the Riverfront Esplanade around 7 a.m., where they enjoyed breakfast and all kinds of fitness entertainment, including a warmup session for the walk.

Everyone gathered around a stage at the site shortly after 8 a.m., where an opening ceremony with the national anthem welcomed participants to the event. ACS officials and event sponsors took to the stage to say a few words before the walk began around 9 a.m.

Survivor: 'I've been blessed'

Kathy Eke, a breast cancer survivor for just one year and who was at the Making Strides walk for the first time, shared her story with the crowd.

She discovered the disease in March of last year when she had COVID — her doctor asked for some exams, including a mammogram, which showed her tumor.

"I had that moment of 'Oh my, I have cancer,'" Eke said before her speech. "I had to deal with the reality that I had to take care of this."

Eke's family lives in Indiana and she recently moved to the Daytona Beach area. She said her mother also had breast cancer, but died in 1999 after the disease had spread into stage 4.

"I was pregnant with my daughter, my son was a baby, so I can say that my daughter was touched by an angel," she said.

She said losing her hair due to treatment was one of the hardest things about dealing with the disease. But when she started to cut her hair short, it gave her a chance to get closer to her family.

"You know, what's funny is I have a picture of my son when he was 9 and me, and we look identical," Eke said. "I sent it to him, and said to him, 'karma!' I haven't had short hair since I was 4 years old."

She said receiving the diagnosis and going through treatment is like a going through "a grieving process."

"You go through the shock, the denial, the anger, the acceptance and the letting go," Eke said.

Eke has been cancer-free since the beginning of the year.

"I've been blessed and fortunate, and I'm just as thrilled as can be," she said.

Importance of community fundraising

The funds raised at the Volusia County event help ACS support breast cancer patients in their battle against the disease by providing transportation (through their Road to Recovery program), free lodging for patients who need to travel far from home for treatment and other types of financial support.

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The amounts raised in previous walks have been substantial, with some exceptionally generous years, such as 2018, when the walk raised more than $2 million, Shaw said.

Although the fundraising goal is not as large an amount, she still expects to make it.

“Our goal is (to raise) $225,000, and I have every belief that we will hit that goal,” Shaw said, adding that community partners and sponsors are what make it possible. “Coming together in the community, with our partners, sponsors, survivors, donors, walkers will help us reach that goal this year.”

One of the biggest helps comes from breast cancer survivor Judy Hupp, of Ormond Beach, who has attended the event for six years.

She received the diagnosis seven years ago, and she had to go through radiation and chemotherapy treatment. She is the first in her family to have breast cancer, she said.

Last year, she and her husband helped raise $16,000 for the event, which Shaw said is one of the biggest contributions from community members involved with Making Strides. She was even recognized with a plaque by U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz.

"I just do it to help other people," Hupp said. "I know the money I raise goes to a good cause, and that's why I do it."

Most of her efforts happen at the Daytona Beach Moose Lodge 1263 in Ormond Beach, where she helps organize events throughout the year to raise her own funds for Making Strides. The recent "Christmas in July" event raised $4,000.

She has raised $11,000 so far this year.

Hupp said she is happy to see every year new drugs being created to help breast cancer patients go through treatment.

"As long as I can do it and I'm healthy, I will do it," Hupp said.

Bringing awareness to breast cancer in men

Shaw also called attention to the importance of bringing awareness to breast cancer in men.

Even though the disease is 100 times less likely to appear in men than in women, the ACS estimates that about "2,800 new cases of invasive breast cancer" will be diagnosed in men in 2023.

James Keegan of Palm Coast had the disease 10 years ago, when his wife, Pat, noticed a strange lump on his chest.

He went to the doctor, who asked to do a biopsy of the lump.

"Two or three days later they called and said, 'It's cancerous,'" Keegan said. "And then it was like one clock stopped and another one started."

He worked in IT departments at hospitals for most of his career, but the disease was unknown territory for him. He is the first in his family to have breast cancer.

"You can't ignore it," Keegan said. "It was like a race, I said 'I've got to do something about this.'"

His treatment experience was unique. During his full year of chemotherapy sessions, he never saw another man being treated at the hospital.

"I'd go in every Tuesday, and it was just women," Keegan said. "All very pink."

He has been cancer-free for nine years.

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"And now, with the help of my lovely wife, we are trying to push awareness to men every chance we get."

'Celebrating survivors'

Shaw said that while she has never had breast cancer, she lost her best friend to the disease and knows the toll that treatment can have on relatives and friends.

"I definitely am aware,” Shaw said of her friend’s battle, who died at age 53. “I was there with her as she was going through the treatment. But we have a tag line: We are the movement, we are the hope, we are the future.”

Shaw said “celebrating survivors and thrivers is a key component of our Making Strides experiences” across the country.

“This is about celebrating, honoring and remembering our survivors and our thrivers,” Shaw said.

For information about breast cancer and the American Cancer Society, visit cancer.org.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk draws thousands to Daytona