Survivors run for the cure
Run for the Cure draws a crowd in St. John’s
Dozens of pink-clad breast cancer survivors were in the spotlight as the opening ceremony kicked off for the huge annual Run for the Cure fundraiser at the Royal Canadian Legion on The Boulevard in St. John’s.
A pink sea of supporters hit the road Sunday morning for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure in St. John’s.
Dozens of pink-clad breast cancer survivors were in the spotlight as the opening ceremony kicked off for the huge an- nual fundraiser at the Royal Canadian Legion on The Boulevard. After the group was piped in to the front of the stage and opening remarks were made, survivor Laurie Butt delivered a personal message to the massive crowd.
“My husband and I have been coming here for the past 10 years supporting a team that he works for, and I never imagined that I’d actually be up here to be a guest speaker at the event,” she said.
Butt was diagnosed in January of 2014. She said it came as a shock as she never knew of any breast cancer cases in her family. When she spoke to her children, they already understood the support for breast cancer patients because they’d been coming to the Run for the Cure for years.
“When you’re diagnosed with breast cancer, sometimes you can feel like the most alone person in the world, but it’s people who are here today — so whether you are a breast cancer survivor, whether you are the family member of a breast cancer survivor, whether you are here to support someone who has passed on due to breast cancer — you really should know that your support means everything,” she said.
People in 61 communities across Canada took part in the run Sunday, choosing between a one-kilometre walk/run or a five-kilometre one. In St. John’s, 1,920 people participated, raising a total of $277,873.65.