Stories of Survival at the Komen Race for the Cure|ABC News 4

ABC News 4 > News > Local News
» leer el artículo en español

text size: A | A | A

Stories of Survival at the Komen Race for the Cure

10/17/09 3:14 pm | reporter: Renee Williams producer: Renee Williams

search tags: race for the cure • susan g komen • breast cancer • survivors

Please Upgrade To Flash!

ABC News 4 - Stories of Survival at the Komen Race for the Cure

related stories:

Daniel Island, SC -

Nearly 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. Thousands of survivors, breast cancer patients and those simply touched by the disease went to Daniel Island for the Susan G. Komen 5K race.

The stories can be found in a sea of pink.

“This is my first year with breast cancer,” Dorothy Bryan said.

It seems almost every runner has a date when their lives changed forever.

“January 25, 2009,” recalled Debbie Smith. That is the day Smith was diagnosed with breast cancer and she had to find a way to tell her eight year old son.

“It was devastating,” her friend and fellow survivor Cynthia Nolen said. Nolen beat the disease fifteen years ago. “I was depressed for several weeks. I couldn’t talk about it and I was very upset.”

The day of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is both a day to forget their disease and remember those who did not survive.

“My mom died in 1997 and I’m walking in memory of her also,” Bryan said. She wore a white sign with her mother’s name, Ruby Bryan, written on it in pink marker.

Bryan battled stage one breast cancer herself and after rounds of chemo, a fighter and a survivor emerged.

“The first four treatments were really harsh,” she said. “The second one took my hair out. That’s expected, though. I didn’t let it get me down because I’m a fighter.”

Each face in the crowd has a similar tale to tell.

“When you’re diagnosed with cancer, you feel like you’re going to die,” Nolen added.
“I have an eight year old son,” said Smith. “All I could think of was I wouldn’t see him grow up.”
The race is a chance to put their battles behind them and find some hope and inspiration.

“I beat it and it’s gone,” Smith added.

Since Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure started in 1982, the grassroots organization has raised $1 billion for breast cancer research.

Email To Friend