Breast cancer survivors find support at Kamloops Run for the Cure

Oct 2, 2016 | 4:41 PM

KAMLOOPS — Riverside Park was a sea of pink Sunday morning, where the annual Run for the Cure was held. The Run began in 1992, and since the first one was held, it’s raised hundreds of millions of dollars for breast cancer research, and support for those with breast cancer.

Laura Deslaurier was just one of the breast cancer survivors to pick up their pink survivor shirt at Sunday’s Run for the Cure.

“It’s quite emotional,” Deslaurier told CFJC Today, as she tried to hold back tears.

Diagnosed just a year and had ago, Deslaurier says that moment has forever altered her life.

“It never really ends,” she explained. “You get better, and you adjust to a new life… The way that you look at things, and your time… and how you want to spend it are, I think, changed forever.”

The 2016 Run for the Cure marks the 24th year the event has raised funds for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. In the past 30 years, the mortality rate for Breast Cancer has decreased by 44% – but it seems that more and more women every year are diagnosed with the disease.

“One in nine women in Canada will be affected by breasted cancer in her lifetime,” Samantha Hayes said. “So it’s a pretty dramatic statistic.”

For Hayes, who is the Communications Coordinator for the 2016 event,  it was her first year volunteering with the Run for the Cure. She says all the hard work was worth it, to see the reaction of those who took part in the Survivors Parade

For Deslaurier, the chance to get together and share experiences with other survivors has been the key to her convalescence

“They’re more than willing to help someone who’s relatively new to being a survivor,” Deslaurier said. “I’ve already asked a couple of women questions, and for advice. They keep saying it gets better, and I believe them, but it’s still hard.”

As long as women are diagnosed with breast cancer, events like the Run for the Cure will help them realize they’re not alone.