|
For Area Woman, Cancer Research More Than Just A Good Cause
By Robyn Weber and Eric San Juan
 | | Sharon Asay |
|
NEW JERSEY - Months of training and fundraising culminated last weekend when Sharon Asay, of Toms River, took to the streets of New York City for the annual Avon Breast Cancer Walk.
The journey to taking to the streets was not an easy one.
"I've committed to participating in the walk and to spending the last few months training and fundraising," Asay said. "I'm one of thousands of people all over the country who … to raise funds for the Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade and support their mission of providing access to care and finding a cure."
And raising funds is the name of the game. Some $1,800 in donations at minimum is required to participate in the 39-mile, two-day walk.
Asay, a mother of two, raised that amount and then some, adding $2,050 to the coffers of those devoted to cancer research.
She had a vested interest in doing so. Several years ago, Asay herself was diagnosed with cancer, stunning her husband, Dennis, and kids, Kristin, 22 and DJ, 21.
"I was diagnosed with breast cancer in October of 2003," she said. "Here it is four years later, and I am a survivor!"
But that doesn't mean her story is over.
"Along with having had breast cancer, I also carry the inherited breast cancer gene, which drastically increases my chances of having a recurrence," noted Asay, 47, and a lifelong Toms River resident. "However, I've taken it upon myself and have had preventative measures performed to such a degree in hopes of preventing this terrible disease from entering my body again. If it weren't for the continued support of my family and friends, my outcome could have been dramatically different. All of you were there through the good and bad times and I can't thank you enough. I was one of the success stories."
Asay knows how cancer can impact a family. She lost both her mother and father, as well as an aunt and her best friend, to cancer. That's why she and others work to make the Avon Walk a success.
"Do you remember when the word cancer was only spoken in hushed tones?" Asay
asked. "Well, it's time for me to start making
noise and taking action against this disease … Every three minutes, another woman in
the United States is diagnosed with breast cancer. We're going to do everything we can to change that statistic."
Last year, more than 3,500 participated in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer New York and broke records, raising $9.7 million to advance access to care and find a cure for breast cancer.
Founded in 1955, the Avon Foundation has awarded more than $450 million worldwide to charitable and philanthropic causes. Today, "women's empowerment," and specifi- cally breast cancer research, have been at the forefront of the organization's efforts. Front and center in those efforts has been the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, focusing efforts worldwide on breast cancer research since 1992. The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer series is the group's largest event.
For more information on the annual walk and the Avon Breast Cancer Awareness Fund, visit www.avonwalk.org or www. avonfoundation.org.
| 
)