This year marks the tenth anniversary for several Making Strides Against Breast Cancer sites in the Great Lakes Division. ACS volunteer Sharon Simmons has been with the Fort Wayne, Indiana event since its inception.

Sharon saw a newspaper article announcing the start of a Strides event in Fort Wayne and called to volunteer. The first year of Making Strides in Fort Wayne saw 200-300 walkers. This year, Sharon says they’re expecting over 4,000 people to attend, and the event has changed locations because it has outgrown its original site.

"Strides is my favorite event," said Sharon, whose favorite part is the celebration of survivorship. "I love the hope and the support and the general community involvement."

When asked what her favorite memory over the past 10 years of Strides is, Sharon recalls the first year her husband, children, and grandchildren all joined her for the walk. Sharon has participated in Strides as a team captain, a walker with her friends and fellow Reach to Recovery volunteers, and as a volunteer in the survivorship area.

As a 15-year breast cancer survivor, Sharon has a lot of hope to offer other women who are diagnosed with breast cancer. During her own radiation treatment, she was visited by a Reach to Recovery volunteer.

"It made a big impression on me," said Sharon. As soon as she was able, she volunteered for the program, which pairs newly diagnosed breast cancer patients with breast cancer survivors who can offer support and hope. Now Sharon is the volunteer coordinator in Indiana and travels around the state training volunteers for Reach to Recovery and supporting local programs.

Volunteering with the American Cancer Society isn’t the only way Sharon has reached out in the fight against breast cancer. When friend and fellow ACS volunteer Francine Schubert lost her battle to breast cancer, Sharon and other friends wanted to find a way to honor her memory. What started as an idea to raise money to pay for some mammograms grew into Francine’s Friends, a mobile mammography unit that makes early detection of breast cancer available to every woman in the Fort Wayne area. The program has a partnership with the Parkview Regional Cancer Center and the Breast Diagnostic Center, which provide staff and support for the screenings.

"The program speaks to [Francine’s] spirit and helps all the women in our community," said Sharon. "We are friends helping friends." Since December 2005, Francine’s Friends has found 17 breast cancers, all in stage I.

Sharon is excited about spreading the message of early detection and hope at this year’s Making Strides event. If you are a breast cancer survivor who would like to become a Reach to Recovery volunteer and make a difference in the lives of others affected by breast cancer, call us toll-free at 1-800-ACS-2345. To find out more about the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event nearest you, visit www.cancer.org/makingstrides.

Pictured: Sharon Simmons