Team members of Cups of Courage walked hand-in-hand across the pink carpet as they finished the last few steps in their 60-kilometre journey.
The four women ended their Weekend to End Breast Cancer trek to cheers from hundreds of spectators yesterday.
Team captain and breast cancer survivor Lorie Bonin-Sandford, along with three friends, walked alongside 1,200 other participants in the fifth annual two-day event.
“I can’t think of a better weekend,” said Bonin-Sandford. “It’s very uplifting.”
Bonin-Sandford said she never expected to have breast cancer, and never found any lumps. It was a routine mammogram in January 2008 that diagnosed her with breast cancer. She got the necessary surgeries and is now in the re-building phase.
“Always check yourself and go for your routine mammograms,” said Bonin-Sandford. “It’s not always a lump you will find, but the mammogram will find something if it’s starting.”
Cups of Courage raised approximately $10,000, while more than $3 million dollars was raised in Calgary. Linda Mickelson, CEO of the Alberta Cancer Foundation, said that the way to put an end to breast cancer is through research.
“Every dollar we invest brings us closer to putting an end to breast cancer,” said Mickelson.
In the past four years, $21 million has gone into cancer research and breast screening programs as a result of the Weekend to End Breast Cancer, said Mickelson.
