40,000 People Walk to Raise $3.25 Million for Breast Cancer

An estimated 40,000 people gathered Sunday to raise awareness and dollars to fight breast cancer at the 15th Annual American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk. Walkers followed the 5-mile route along the Charles River Esplanade to proudly honor breast cancer survivors and remember those who have lost their lives to the disease. Making Strides in Boston is the nation’s oldest and largest one-day breast cancer fundraiser, and is the American Cancer Society’s signature event during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. It was another record-breaking year – a total amount raised of $3.25 million was announced from the stage of the DCR Hatch Memorial Shell.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino attended the event to present a proclamation to American Cancer Society New England Division CEO, Donald J. Gudaitis, in recognition of the event’s 15th anniversary. In addition, Mayor Menino joined a group of 15-year participants for a ceremonial ribbon cutting. A spell-binding performance by Victoria Matlock (Elphaba) and ChristinaDeCicco, (Glinda) from the smash hit musical WICKED, kicked off the entertainment program later in the day as walkers returned from the route.

"Making Strides in Boston is a very important fundraiser, raising more than $33 million since its inception,” said Debbie Cornwall, of the Society’s New England Division Board of Directors. “But it's also an opportunity to learn more about breast cancer and to understand why the Society believes that 'Hope Starts Here.’ We thank all of the walkers who helped make it a great success by raising over $3million to help save lives and support cancer patients and their caregivers."

According to American Cancer Society statistics, every three minutes a woman in the United States learns she has breast cancer.

In addition:

* Breast cancer accounts for more than one in four cancer diagnoses among women in the U.S.

* An estimated 178,480 U.S. women will develop breast cancer this year and sadly more than 40,000 will die

* In Massachusetts, 4,260 women will develop breast cancer this year and nearly 900 Massachusetts women will die from breast cancer this year.

Dollars raised through Making Strides Against Breast Cancer directly support the American Cancer Society’s breast cancer research, education, advocacy and patient support programs.

Flagship sponsors for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event are AstraZeneca, Aurora Imaging Technology, Inc., BlueCross BlueShield of Massachusetts, H.P. Hood, and WeGotSoccer.

For more information on Making Strides Against Breast Cancer call 1-800-ACS-2345 orvisit http://www.cancer.org/.