Monica Heimes was diagnosed with breast cancer twice in her life — at 18 and 20 years old.
Six years after her last diagnosis, Heimes is organizing her second team for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk.
“Any little bit makes a difference,” Heimes said of the walk.
Teams throughout the Emerald Coast are busy organizing, raising money and preparing for the breast cancer awareness walk in October.
Nancy Brown, chairwoman for the event, said she expects this year’s walk to surpass last year’s 3,000 participants.
“There are just more and more breast cancer survivors and more and more people affected by this cancer,” Brown said at a recent kickoff reception.
As of Friday afternoon, 55 teams with 157 participants had raised more than $10,700 for the American Cancer Society.
There are several ways to participate, from forming a team to volunteering at the event. There are a number of fundraisers leading up to the walk at 9 a.m. Oct. 26 at Village Baptist Church in Destin.
“Don’t you want to be a part of that, ending breast cancer?” Brown asked.
Angelika Guenther joined The Boeing Co. team for this year’s walk. Her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was a child and later passed away from the disease.
“For me personally, when you walk out of these events, it always puts things back in perspective,” Guenther said.
CHECK IT OUT: The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk will be at 9 a.m. Oct. 26 at Village Baptist Church in Destin. For more information or to form a team, visit www.makingstrideswalk.org.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Lauren Delgado at 850-315-4445 or ldelgado@nwfdailynews.com.Follow her on Twitter @LaurenDnwfdn.
