Deanna’s Discoveries: More than a walk in the park. Hundreds unite in the fight against cancer

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — More than 1,500 people faced Saturday morning’s chilly temperatures to take on a formidable foe.

They gathered at Genesee Valley Park united in the fight against breast and gynecological cancer. Saturday was the Pink Ribbon Run and Walk benefiting the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester. And clad in my pink tutu, I joined them to serve as their emcee and cheerleader.

As they gathered at the starting line, the sea of pink and teal seemed to stretch for miles along the eastern bank of the Genesee River. They were walkers and runners with a singular mission in mind, eradicate diseases that take far too many, far too soon.

"I have been extremely blessed," walker Lauren Trimble told me smiling. That’s how she was feeling, not because of her current breast cancer journey, but because she has so many friends holding her hand along the way. Her neighbors surrounded her, a dozen strong. They called themselves the Trimble Trotters and each wore t-shirts adorned with angel wings and the words, “Walk 4 Robin. You’d think they’d known her since childhood, but she just recently moved to the area from New Jersey.

"I came to Farmington and I met these great people who have just embraced me,” she said with a wide grin. “I am the luckiest person in the world."

It’s that kind of support every woman facing breast and gynecological cancer needs, the support that the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester provides.

And all their services from yoga to support groups are at no cost to survivors and families.

That’s why Congressman Joe Morelle was there. After losing his daughter to breast cancer, he truly knows how crucial these services are.

A large group of gynecological cancer survivors were there as well. They called themselves The Avengers and wore teal shirts, capes and boas. They are avengers indeed, avenging the wrongs committed by a microscopic foe, determined to create a community where cancer has no home.

“I never thought it could happen to me,” said Trimble. But since it has, I embrace it; I move forward. And I’m hoping that the BCCR (Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester) can eradicate this horrible disease!”

If you’d like to donate to the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester, click here.

News10NBC was a proud sponsor of this event.