Taking steps to fight breast cancer
Families share triumphs, honor their loved ones at Komen fundraiser
It’s been six years since John Barron lost his daughter, Ana Barron Garcia, to breast cancer.
His strength comes from the 100 family and friends who joined him for this year’s Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on Saturday at Sam Houston Park in downtown.
“She was a fighter,” he said. “She fought it to the very end, and even though she was sick, she tried to educate other people about breast cancer and encourage them to check for lumps.”
Barron and his team, all wearing “Ana’s Angel’s” T-shirts, joined the more than 15,000 people — many clad in pink from their sneakers to their tutus — for the 26th annual event.
The 5K walk-and-foot race kicks off Breast Cancer Awareness month and is the second-largest Komen race in the nation. It’s also the largest annual fundraiser for Susan G. Komen Houston, which helps to pay for local programs that provide breast health education, breast-cancer screening and treatment.
Barron’s daughter was 35 when she died in 2010 from inflammatory breast cancer, a rare form of the disease. She would have turned 41 on Saturday.
Her widower, Gerry Garcia, with his two children nearby, carried a large pink and green placard showing the team’s support.
“Ana’s mission was to make people aware of the symptoms … so it’s important to get diagnosed early so you
have a fighting chance,” he said.
Saturday’s event included a memorial tribute with a release of birds to honor those who have died from breast cancer.
Since it began here in 1990, the race has raised more than $45 million for breast cancer research, screening and treatment. Organizers hope to raise $2 million this year. Seventy-five percent of the net income from the race will fund programs in seven counties in greater Houston, according to Susan G. Komen Houston.
The race included some 2,200 breast cancer survivors, like Lynette Lamey of Sugar Land, who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of the disease in 2013. Inspired by a testicular-cancer survivor who created the “Check Your Boys” Facebook page, Lamey started her own version, the “Check Your Girls” Facebook page, to raise breast-cancer awareness.
Lamey said she had a baseball-sized mass removed from her left breast and underwent six months of chemotherapy and six weeks of daily radiation. Now cancer-free, she was flanked by her family for Saturday’s race.
“I want them to see there are so many people who are impacted with the same struggle, and they shouldn’t feel alone,” she said. “When you are diagnosed with breast cancer, the entire family is impacted. So having them here makes me feel warm and fuzzy.” joy.sewing@chron.com twitter.com/joysewing