Rockland Group Takes Part in Avon Walk for Breast Cancer

Ann Marie Hogan of Pearl River remembers clearly the support she received when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004.

"I guess what inspired me is the town that we live in," Hogan said. "When I finally got a diagnoses Feb. 17, I had surgery a month later. From March 11 to April 17, everybody in town organized and took over. The kids never missed an event. Somebody was always scheduled to bring me to chemo. Somebody stayed with me every night in the hospital. We had meals cooked every day. It was absolutely amazing."

That is just one reason Hogan leads a group of 12 Rockland County women known as the Brest Buddies, who for the sixth consecutive year will take part in the New York City Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, one of nine such events nationwide, this Saturday and Sunday.

Though the walkers have already registered, people can still take part by cheering along the route or coming to the closing ceremonies 3 p.m. Sunday at Hudson River Park's Pier 84. Cheering locations, directions and parking suggestions are available at the Avon Walk website here.

Hogan said the support is very helpful for the walkers, who go a combined 26 miles over two days. She said it is best to go in the morning Saturday.

"We have designated posts where people can come out and cheer," said Eloise Caggiano, the program director for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and a six-year breast cancer survivor. "The walkers need it and it's a fun thing for spectators to do. You see how they appreciate it. Also, the closing ceremony is open to the public. It's a great way to wrap up the weekend."

"We have people who just show up and paly a bagpipe or a violin or just cheer," Hogan said. "Other people hand out candy to us. I can't tell you what it does for the people walking. They encourage you and get you mile to mile."

That is another reason Hogan walks. She is just happy to be able to make it that far.

"All the time, I as going through treatments, I had infections for 18 months after the initial surgery," Hogan said. "My girlfriends kept saying, 'We'll do this walk.' I was thinking, 'Walk? I can't walk to the next block and you think I'm walking 26 miles?'

"I think it is the excitement that I am able to. The group of us all go every year. You laugh. You cry. You walk. You hear stories. You get encouragement. You give encouragement. It's a great event."

The group includes four breast cancer survivors and one woman who is a three-time survivor of ovarian cancer. But it also includes their friends, including Eileen Murphy, the wife of Rockland County Legislator John Murphy.

"She's the senior lady in the group, but she's the fastest walker and the prettiest one," John Murphy said.

Caggiano said she expect over 100 survivors Saturday and Sunday. She added that the event draws people from all over the country and it is the largest of the nine Avon Walks. According to Caggiano, last year's walk drew approximately 4,000 people and raised $9.4 million.

"What's really nice at an Avon Walk is at the closing ceremony, people see us give the money away," Caggiano said. "The beneficiaries are on the stage. The people who work so hard to raise the money will see exactly what happens to it. The majority of the money stays in the area. They may know somebody who has gone to one of them, or it is something well-known like Sloan-Kettering or the NYU Cancer Center."

She added that people join the walk for a variety of reasons.

"We have people walking for those they have lost or those who survived," Caggiano said. "Or people who don't want their daughters to have to worry about breast cancer.

"We celebrate (the survivors), which is very inspiring. I'm a six-year survivor. when I meet a 10-year survivor or a 20-year survivor, I have to hug them. It's hopeful for me."

The Avon Foundation funds a wide variety of projects, including the search for new screening methods.

"We're funding some great research projects in those areas to try to find other screening methods that would be less invasive and less expensive, so they would be more accessible," Caggiano said.

The walk itself is far from a solemn event.

"I am the first one to admit that breast cancer is a deadly serious disease, but we manage to have a lot of fun at the Avon Walk," Caggiano said. "It's two days of thousands of people from all over the country, all stages of life. It's a lot of people sharing stories why they are there. They have something so fundamental in common. For two days, this big community that is so passionate and inspiring to each other (gets together)."

Caggiano and Hogan both pointed to the importance of making sure care is available to everyone, not just those who can afford it.

"I had great insurance," Caggiano said. "I didn't worry how I would pay for anything. If the doctor said to do something, I did it. I dint' realize how lucky I was, to realize there are women who won't get a mammogram because they don't have insurance, or they won't make the doctor's appointment because they can't miss owrk or pay someone to watch their children."

Hogan's group does not ask for donations. They put together fundraising events such as Italian cooking lessons and the annual golf outing. The next fundraiser is a performance by Eileen Ivers Dec. 4 at Pearl River High School.

Hogan said she had volunteered before her own illness, but she never understood how important that help was until she needed it herself.

"I am all about paying it forward," Hogan said. "One never knows when it will be their turn to be in need. The more we can do for others, it always comes around."