Racing For Life

Thousands gather to race against breast cancer and to honor survivors.

SHARON LUCKERMAN
Staff Writer

I

n 1982, Nan Cy Goodman Brinker established
the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure as part
of a promise to her sister. Before Susan
Goodman Komen died of breast cancer at age
36, she asked Nancy to do everything possible to
bring an end to the disease.
Now in its 20th year, the Susan G. Komen race will
take place at 114 sites around the world. The local
sponsor is the Detroit-based Barbara Ann Karmanos
Cancer Institute.
In its 12th year in Detroit, the race raises money
for national research and local programs like breast
cancer screening, education and treatment.
More than 25,000 local runners and walkers are
expected to race up Woodward Avenue beginning in
front of Detroit's Comerica Park at 9 a.m. Saturday,
June 21.
"The race is not just an event for survivors, but for
everybody, since we all know somebody who has the
disease or who will some day," says breast cancer sur-
vivor Rita Sitron of Farmington Hills.
An English teacher at Cass Technical High School
in Detroit, Sitron says, "The event is beautiful and it
binds the community together. It's overwhelming to
see the number of people who come out, rain or
shine, to support the Komen Foundation."
Detroit's race raised $925,000 last year, says
Karmanos' Maureen Meldrum, assistant director of
breast cancer special programs. Internationally, the
races have raised nearly $600 million over the past 20
years.

Running For Support

Stuart Baskin of Farmington Hills, a father of three,
never ran a race until he heard about the Race for the
Cure. His wife, Janet, died of breast cancer last year
after a 12-year battle with the disease. She was 43.
Last year, Baskin and his son Roman, 13, ran the
race. This year, all three Baskin children — Robbie,
14, Sonia, 10, and Roman — entered along with
many of their friends.
"My daughter will walk more than run with her
teacher, Cathy Flowers, from Hillside Elementary
School in Farmington Hills," Baskin says. "A lot of
neighbors and friends are also coming out, along with
my whole volleyball team and my older son's track ,
team.
He says the race has affected his children. "They all
want to be involved, so they're out running and col-
lecting money to fight cancer."
Moved by his own experience in the race last year,
Baskin joined the race's executive committee. "I didn't
realize the emotion it would stir up."
He says many of the male members, roughly 20
percent of the committee, have lost their wives to

breast cancer or their wives are breast cancer sur-
vivors.
Baskin sees the race as a way to educate people on
the importance of early detection and treatment of
cancer.
"The key is the awareness of breast cancer. Go in
for your exams. It doesn't just affect older people," he
says.
Regular health exams are key, says Karmanos'
Meldrum. If everyone followed the breast cancer
screening guidelines, mortality from breast cancer
would be reduced by 30 percent. Screening includes
mammography, a yearly clinical exam, and breast self-
exams.

Running For Knowledge

Early detection of breast cancer through a mammo-
gram saved the life of West
Bloomfield's Elizabeth Walters, says her
daughter Lisa Walters, of Waterford,
who will race along with her daughter,
Alexa Applefield, 7.
Lisa's participation honors her moth-
er and remembers her grandmother,
Shirley Savine of Oak Park, who died
of breast cancer when Lisa was 8.
"Breast cancer is epidemic, and I
want a cure to be found," she says.
Treatment, however, has greatly
improved. Her mother found her
recovery from cancer much less painful
compared to women diagnosed with
breast cancer only a few years earlier.
Chemotherapy and new drug treat-
ments are more effective and less toxic,
says Meldrum. In addition, the drug
tamoxifen is now being used by post-menopausal
women to prevent breast cancer.
The Karrnanos Institute says breast cancer is the
leading cause of cancer deaths among women ages
40-59. But, when caught early, breast cancer is now
95 percent curable.
Though not participating in the race, survivor
Elizabeth Walters is spreading the word about
breast cancer. As one of the leads in the original
musical For Our Daughters, Walters and the other
cast members enact the physical and emotional
journey of a woman with breast cancer and its
effect on her family.
-
For Rita Sitron, the Race for the Cure is difficult.
"The race is very emotional for me," she says. "It
keeps me in touch with what I went through with
the disease. I find myself crying and recalling the
friends I had that are no longer with us and were in
my support group.
"Cancer is a piece of my life that will always be
there. The disease is over, but the memory is for a
lifetime." El

The race is emotional for Rita Sitron.

Stuart Baskin and his children are well prepared for the
Race for the Cure.

A free showing of For Our Daughters
be at 1 p.m. at the Second City eater,
across Woodward from Comerica Park.
For required advance registration,
Karmanos, (800) 527-6266.

6/20
2003

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