Nearly 8,000 people draped in pink for walk against breast cancer

Making Strides of Central Virginia representatives estimate that nearly 8,000 people made it to a walk to fight against breast cancer. The annual event brings together survivors of breast cancer and their families who traverse a 3.2-mile route along Monument Avenue.

The walk was hosted by WTVR Channel 6’s Reba Hollingsworth with appearances from breast cancer survivors Heather Marie Van Cleave and Dominique Lomax.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the U.S. outside of skin cancers, according to the American Cancer Society. One in eight women develop breast cancer sometime in their life, while breast cancer accounts for one of three new cancer diagnoses in women each year.

Beth Rutherford, an 18-year cancer survivor, has been diagnosed with breast cancer five times since 2007.

Rutherford says that after nearly two decades, she is used to living with her cancer diagnoses. She went to Making Strides to promote the idea of an aesthetic flat closure — a type of surgery the rebuilds the shape of the chest wall after a mastectomy — instead of using breast implants.

Implants are a popular choice for women after a mastectomy. The Food and Drug Administration recognizes the term “breast implant illness” to describe symptoms of brain fog, fatigue, joint or muscle pain and other types of ailments experienced by women with silicone- or saline-filled implants.

Rutherford started her journey using implants but later had them removed, realizing they had to be replaced every seven to 10 years.

“When I woke up from surgery, the improvement in my health was just so astounding,” Rutherford said. “Scabs on my arms disappeared, my skin color got better, my vision changed. I had been through seven rounds of chemo, but I was still living with no energy.”

She said there were really no options to go flat when she was diagnosed, outside of implants or “flaps,” which reconstruct the breast with tissue from other parts of the body.

“I’m not saying don’t get them, but realize when it’s really starting to affect your daily life because they are insidious,” Rutherford said.

Mary Ellen is another survivor from Rutherford’s group, Stand Tall AFC — nicknamed “the Flatties.” She connected with the group before ever having surgery.

“It’s not even talked about as an option,” Ellen said. “I didn’t want to keep my breasts going through radiation and chemo every year. I don’t want to go through annual mammograms and be scared that it’s going to come back.”

She was also facing a potential lung cancer diagnosis around the same time.

“I’ll take whatever precautions I need to so I won’t have to face a particular cancer,” Ellen said.

Elizabeth Ballard, senior development manager with the American Cancer Society, said connecting with such groups as the Flatties is a huge part of the annual walk.

“It’s a community of people that are united. They all come together, and they all have a ‘why’ and a ‘who,’” Ballard said. “It’s one of those times where we can take back our day because cancer is so horrible. This is like a celebration of coming through our journey.”

Along with the walk, Making Strides raises donations to fight cancer. It has currently raised around $232,000 to help breast cancer survivors locally. The nonprofit has initiatives such as transportation for people in recovery, peer groups and a 24/7, toll-free number to help people with questions about treatment options or side effects.

The event was held at Monroe Park in Richmond for the first time, having moved from its former location at Libbie Mill.

Donations to the group are open until Dec. 31.