Sisters Against Ovarian Cancer Walk September 8

| August 28, 2012 | Health and Wellness | No Comments

Spirit of Medford Woman Lives on in 5th Annual ‘Step Up and Break the Silence’ Walk

2011 walk

Some of the participants of last year’s walk. Photo courtesy Judy Budny.

– Allison Goldsberry

Sisters Against Ovarian Cancer will be hosting their fifth annual walk in honor of their founding member, Marie Spinale, on Saturday, September 8 at the Stone Zoo. The goals of the “Step Up and Break the Silence” walk are to raise awareness of ovarian cancer, educate those at risk, and fund research for life-saving screening and treatment programs.

Sisters Against Ovarian Cancer (SAOC) were founded in 2007 by Medford resident Marie Spinale, who courageously battled the disease for three years before her death in 2009. Marie became an inspiration to those around her when she created the SAOC to help others fight the same disease.

“I needed to have a way of dealing with everything that had happened to me in the last two years,” said Marie in a statement on the organization’s website. It is my hope that we can make a difference by raising awareness and also raising money for ovarian cancer research.”

The five mile walk is taking place in the Maple Grove area of the Stone Zoo in Stoneham. Registration begins at 8:30AM and the walk kicks off at 9:30AM. Registration can be done in person on September 8 or through the SAOC website.

According to Judy Budny, one of the event’s organizers, SAOC has raised over $157,000 for ovarian cancer research to date.

All proceeds of the 2012 SAOC Walk will go to the Sisters Against Ovarian Cancer Koch Institute Frontier Research Fund at the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, according to the SAOC website.

A week before the walk on Saturday, September 1, SAOC members will be “turning the town teal” by placing teal ribbons around Medford. They will also leave cards with information about symptoms of the disease. The “Turn the Towns Teal” campaign is part of a national effort to raise awareness during Ovarian Cancer Awareness month.