Rain couldn’t keep them away. 1,500 come out for breast cancer

As Janet DeMello describes her 18-month battle with breast cancer, tears slowly escape her eyes.

Left to right: Ann Marie Fortin, Janet DeMello, Holley Thorburn, Linda Reid (Jody Nabuurs Photo)

“I finished treatments about four weeks ago,” she said as she and a group of women squeezed together under a couple of umbrellas.

“It’s been a long journey but we’re coming to the end of it now and now I’m looking forward to my time ahead.”

Fifteen women have come out to support and walk with her.

“All these girls are out here in the rain. It’s really, really great. They’re showing their support,” Demello said.

She wipes the tears with her sleeve and apologizes for crying. The women reach out and tell her they couldn’t think of anywhere else they’d rather be.

Pouring rain couldn’t keep about 1,500 breast cancer survivors and supporters away from this year’s annual CIBC Run for the Cure held Sunday at Government House in Fredericton.

“We were so pleased with the turnout,” said Nicola Cassidy, one of the run coordinators.

“We didn’t have showers but rather downpours so the fact that all these people came and many stayed for the entire event was more than we hoped for. It shows the dedication to the cause and the desire to create a future without breast cancer.”

Back row: Danielle Cardinal, Nancy Briggs, Heather Grant, Shelley Douglass, January Jones. Front: Barb Neales (Jody Nabuurs)

Cassidy said this is the first time in the CIBC Run for the Cure’s 11-year history that it rained so heavily on run day.

“Apparently it rained the first year of the run … but it was a shower and not the deluge we experienced (Sunday).”

To stay dry, some wore raincoats or ponchos while others hid inside tents. But for breast cancer survivors like DeMello and Barb Neales, the rain was nothing to be afraid of.

“For what I went through last year – diagnosis, biopsies, surgeries, chemo, radiation – a little rain is nothing,” Neales said.

Neales has been free of breast cancer for one year. This is her second year participating in the CIBC Run for the Cure.

“I came last year bald during treatment with butterflies tattooed on my head,” she said.

Cassidy said more than $246,000 was raised this year in Fredericton.

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Posted by Jody Nabuurs on Oct 6, 2009. Filed under News, This Week's Edition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.