It was cold and rainy but volunteers clad in 90s workout clothes and underwear on the outside still busted out their best moves on the corners of Burrard and Robson streets to raise awareness of the B.C. Cancer Foundation’s Underwear Affair, yesterday.
The five-kilometre walk or 10-kilometre run, happening on July 12, in Vancouver, will bring together about 1,500 people to raise funds and awareness for cancers “below the waist,” which include prostate, ovarian and cervical cancers.
Lisa Luongo, 42, whose mother was previously diagnosed with colorectal cancer twice, explains that below the waist cancers are hard to talk about because they cause some people to feel embarrassed.
“It’s a very hush-hush subject, ” said Luongo, who has already raised more than $1,000 for the run. “We have to show kids and others that it’s not a bad thing to talk about because it can help people live long and healthy lives.”
Last year, the Underwear Affair raised $650,000 but Nick Locke, Interim CEO of the B.C. Cancer Foundation said he’s hoping to hit the $1 million mark at this summer’s event.
