Breast cancer efforts honor officer’s ‘warrior spirit’

The 200 officers of the Pembroke Pines Police Department will be visibly observing national Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October by supporting a series of local events and activities, wearing pink badges, and deploying their pink police car.

And they’re stepping up their efforts this year after one of their own members recently fought a battle against it.

For several years officers have placed pink decals on their patrol cars to signal their support for breast health, said police spokeswoman Amanda Conwell, until last year when one of their own, Officer Dawn Groves, an 18-year veteran of the squad, was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer.

She has soldiered on through two surgeries, radiation and chemotherapy without leaving work and is now awaiting twomore follow-up surgeries later this year.

She credits her “warrior spirit” – as an officer in the department’s Training Division she trains officers in firearms, defensive tactics, and less-lethal weapons – for her ongoing recovery.

“I feel great. I was determined not to let this disease get the bestof me. If you’re diagnosed with any illness, your attitude toward the disease is so important to the treatment and the recovery – that never-give-up attitude,” said Groves.

Groves also formed the “5-0 Fighters” team that will compete in the upcoming Glam-A-Thon fundraiser, and she is planning to establish a nonprofit organization to raise money for breast cancer treatment, prevention and awareness.

“My goal is to encourage everyone to be aware of breast cancer. It’s so important thatwe get mammograms and ultrasounds, but just as important are self-examinations