At her first Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk, Alyssa Holl found herself bonding with a community of fellow patients and survivors. “The beauty of the cancer survivor is not on the outside,” says Holl, now chairing the Survivor Committee of 2023 Making Strides of South Central PA, Oct. 21 on City Island, Harrisburg. “It’s on the inside, being able to persevere, and the mindset of being resilient enough to keep climbing that mountain over and over and over again.”
How do my donations help?
Groundbreaking research
Donor dollars help the American Cancer Society (ACS) keep pace with rising breast cancer rates by conducting research and offering grants to prestigious medical institutions. ACS-funded studies have found better treatments against aggressive breast cancer, uncovered racial and insurance-based disparities in screening, and grown miniature breast tumors to test the potency of new and existing drugs against hard-to-treat cancers.
Patient support
When hope and money feel in short supply, the American Cancer Society steps up. Its Road to Recovery coordinates rides to treatment, lifting the barrier that lack of transportation creates. The ACS CARES app and National Cancer Information Center phone and video chat hotline link patients with localized help. Hope Lodges in major cities, plus a partnership with Extended Stay America hotels, give patients a safe, inviting place to live while traveling far from home for treatment.
Outspoken advocacy
Somewhere in Washington and Harrisburg, lawmakers are writing legislation that could make the fight against cancer easier, or harder. The ACS Cancer Action Network (fightcancer.org) mobilizes people to speak up for policies that advance research and the patient experience, or to oppose funding cuts and backsliding. “It doesn’t matter what side of the fence you vote on,” says Yalonda Rice, senior development manager II, American Cancer Society Northeast Region. “Cancer affects everyone.”
Donate or sign up
Visit makingstrideswalk.org/southcentralpa to participate in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk or to donate.
Meet Men Wear Pink
Men Wear Pink Ambassadors: Darrien Davenport, J. Michael Curci, Hendrik Burger, and Wes Reohr
An army in pink
In 2013, a group of men in Jackson, TN, launched Real Men Wear Pink to raise money and tell cancer that it won’t win. Today, the American Cancer Society’s Men Wear Pink campaign, as it’s now known, inspires more than 2,200 ambassadors in 120 chapters nationwide to raise funds and, of course, work pink into their wardrobes. Wesley Reohr, chair
of Men Wear Pink of South Central PA and a top-10 fundraiser nationally in 2022, owns a pink blazer, pink shirt, pink lapel pins, and pink Converse Chuck Taylors. “The only thing I probably don’t have is pink pants,” he says.
Why Men Wear Pink
Some ambassadors have a personal connection in mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters impacted by breast cancer. Others, like Reohr, want to give back to their communities, pay tribute to the influential women in their lives, and set an example of community involvement for their kids. The South Central PA campaign’s 17 ambassadors come from Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Perry, Lancaster, Lebanon, and York counties. All the pinkness also sends the message that men get breast cancer, too. “Male breast health is just as important as women’s,” says Rice.
How to support
Men Wear Pink of South Central PA is on the ACS national leaderboard! Help them raise oodles of money by visiting menwearpink.org/southcentralpa.
Make prevention your business
Breast Cancer Survivor: Alyssa Holl
Know your rights
You know that eating right, exercising, and conducting breast self-exams lowers your risk. But did you also know that laws empower you to get screenings? Under federal law, all new health insurance plans must cover screening mammograms, with no copay, for women 50 and older, and as doctor-recommended for women 40 to 49. A new Pennsylvania law requires free genetic testing and supplemental screenings for women at high risk of breast and ovarian cancers. Women who are uninsured or who can’t afford a mammogram can contact the ACS at 1-800-227-2345 to learn about free or low-cost programs locally.
Yes, you
Myth-busting time. About 80 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history of the disease. No matter your circumstances, don’t ignore the signs. If you feel a lump or have other signs, including swelling, skin dimpling, or changes in the nipple, call your doctor immediately.
Be your best advocate
Survivor Alyssa Holl once told a woman named Amy to insist on further testing for a breast lump that her doctor was “monitoring.” Amy did as she was told, and the tests revealed triple-negative breast cancer, the most aggressive form. “Had she not been tested, she would have been dead in six months,” Holl says. “I want people to understand that it doesn’t matter if you’re only 40. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a family history. You need to understand the risk factors. You need to be vigilant about your health, and you need to learn to become your own advocate.”
Breast Cancer Survivor: Sheryl Lewis
Learn more
Find prevention tips, warning signs, and resources at cancer.org.
