By Sgt. Aaron LeBlanc
3rd Sustainment Command (Expenditionary)
CAMP TAJI – 316 Soldiers and civilians, including several members of the 165th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, participated in the 3rd Annual Camp Taji Walk for Breast Cancer, held on Saturday, July 12. The Camp Taji Walk is held in conjunction with the annual Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, held July 12 and 13 in San Francisco.
Saturday's walk raised money to advance access to care and help find a cure for breast cancer. It also served to raise awareness of the disease itself, and was an opportunity for those touched by the disease to share their stories.
"I'm walking today for my grandmother, who is a survivor of breast cancer, and who had to have a mastectomy," said 1st Lt. Jasmine Rutherford, the executive officer of the 68th Transportation Company.
"I have lost several aunts and a couple of friends to breast cancer. But I have several friends and co-workers who are breast cancer survivors," said Spc. Barbara Coleman, intelligence analyst for the 165th. "My life has been affected by all forms of cancer; it killed both my grandfathers and most of the siblings on both sets of my grandparent's family. I also have a very close family member who is in remission right now," she said.
The five-kilometer walk wound its way through the streets of Camp Taji, starting and finishing at the John H. Schoolcraft Pavilion, near the Camp Taji's Post Exchange.
First launched in 2005 by a breast cancer survivor stationed in Iraq, the unique one-day event has taken place at Camp Taji since 2006, where hundreds of participants, wearing pink and white t-shirts supplied by the Avon Foundation, undertake their own efforts to eradicate breast cancer.
This year the event was scheduled concurrently with the Avon Walk San Francisco. Despite the ever present mission requirements of the 165th, many chose to dedicate their morning to helping others in the fight against breast cancer and, for the first time, many opted for voluntary fundraising to help support the cause even further.
| Date Taken: |
07.12.2008 |
| Date Posted: |
07.22.2008 13:19 |
| Story ID: |
21750 |
| Location: |
TAJI, IQ |
| Web Views: |
87 |
| Downloads: |
52 |
PUBLIC DOMAIN
This work, Walk for Breast Cancer Held at Camp Taji, by SGT Aaron Leblanc, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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