This October, thousands of people are taking to the streets to fight against breast cancer, and NYSUT will be walking beside them. Each year, NYSUT members walk in solidarity with breast cancer survivors and their loved ones during the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer events, which take place across the state.
Patricia Duggan, a retired member of the Mount Vernon Federation of Teachers, has been in remission from breast cancer for nine years. “It happened to me about three years before I retired,” Duggan said. “Thank God, they caught it. It was very small, but there was already one lymph node involved.”
Duggan has been a leader for the Mount Vernon FT retiree chapter’s Making Strides team since 2016. “I worry about my daughters. That’s why I walk. It’s for them.” Duggan also walks in memory of her mother, Sheila Phelan, who passed away in 2004 following a battle with breast cancer.
Duggan serves as a peer counselor for Support Connection in Yorktown Heights, answering phone calls from individuals recently diagnosed with breast and ovarian cancer. “Every woman is different, and their cancer journey is unique,” Duggan said. “We help them from diagnosis to treatment and into survivorship.”
Since 2002, NYSUT has been a flagship sponsor for the ACS Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event. During that time, our members have raised $18.3 million to support groundbreaking breast cancer research, ensure greater access to quality care, influence public policy, and provide critical patient support.
“NYSUT is proud to support Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. To all of our members who are facing down this diagnosis, we want to say, ‘We are here for you,’ and to our members who have loved ones battling this disease, we want to say, ‘We know what you are going through,’” said J. Philippe Abraham, NYSUT secretary-treasurer, whose office coordinates the statewide union’s social justice initiatives and who lost one of his sisters to the disease.
Megan Zoladz has been leading the Teachers Association of Cheektowaga-Sloan Strides team for five years, ever since her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her mother underwent surgery, radiation, and has been on maintenance medication ever since; if her scans continue to be clear, this will be her final year on medication, Zoladz said. “I got involved because I wanted to make sure people get the care they need, like my mom got. That’s where this money goes, to fund research and treatment,” said Zoladz. As team leader, Zoladz has found innovative ways to raise money for Making Strides, including a successful calendar fundraiser and “wear pink” days at school. For her, the walk represents a chance to come together with friends, family and colleagues and show people with cancer that they are not alone. “It’s such a fun day. I tell people you can come out, bring your kids, walk with your friends. It’s such a nice way to spend the day,” she said.
Jane Beller, a retired member of the Rockville Centre TA has been participating in the Making Strides of Long Island at Jones Beach since the mid-1990s. “I was involved with my friend, Rose Stein on getting support and walkers out to the beach for many of those years. It is a great place to have an awareness event with the beach and water as a backdrop. We would arrive early and set up a table for our teachers and their friends to come by for a snack and chat before they took off on the boardwalk, which was covered in pink,” said Beller. Beller, who is team leader for the Rockville Centre Retired TA said fundraising typically begins early, and that she has a strong and committed group of retirees. “The torch has been passed just like many other union responsibilities, but the passion to find a cure and give help to those in need remains a constant.”
For more information about how you can join Team NYSUT and raise funds for breast cancer research and prevention, visit https://nysut.cc/makingstrides