Jul. 30--Sharon Rapoport's pink T-shirt read "I am a survivor," and surrounding her, a sea of about 3,500 women wore the same top. They walked under an arch of pink balloons on the lawn of the National Mall, and that's when Rapoport thought: "I am with my sisters."
"When you go through breast cancer, you're literally fighting for your life," said Rapoport, an advertising executive from South Roanoke. "And when you're with a group of women who have been through it, suddenly the thing that made you the most vulnerable makes you the strongest."
Rapoport, 50, had a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001. In June, she ran for the sixth time in the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure in Washington, one of the world's largest fundraisers for the cause.
Now, she and a host of volunteers from the Roanoke Valley want it to be known: The race series, which already features more than 1.5 million participants in more than 120 cities, is coming to the Roanoke area.
Since 2007, members of the Greater Roanoke Valley Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure have raised money and given grants toward breast cancer research and awareness, board member Wendi Schultz said. They recently announced the first local 5K race and one-mile fun run scheduled for April 10 at Green Hill Park in Roanoke County.
Although the race will be the centerpiece of the local affiliate's fundraising efforts, the group already awarded a combined $230,000 in 2007 and 2008 to health care agencies in the region for breast health, Schultz said. The grants were made to address uninsured or underserved women in areas from Patrick to Wythe counties.
The local affiliate, which according to Schultz counts more than 250 volunteers, has raised awareness of its cause mainly through word of mouth. Volunteers have participated in area events such as the Salem Red Sox Pink in the Park Weekend and a public health and safety fair in downtown Roanoke in early June.
Members also have traveled to Richmond and Washington to lobby representatives from the region about health care legislation.
Despite the local affiliate's success, members' efforts have so far been relatively quiet. The race is when they will pull out all the stops.
Kara Campbell, a 28-year-old volunteer from Roanoke County, said she's been motivated to participate because of her personal experiences.
In February -- 13 years after her mother lost her own battle with breast cancer -- Campbell was diagnosed. She had a double mastectomy and says the experience made her feel closer to her mother -- and to other survivors, whom she considers sisters.
"I want to be a rock for other women," she said. "I want people to know that cancer has not stopped me from living, and it may have paused me, but it won't defeat me."
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