Jones Beach breast cancer walk expected to bring 70,000 advocates and survivors to Wantagh
Andi Maxwell, 59, of Amityville, center, and her wife, Gail, 57, plan to walk in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk on Oct. 20 at Jones Beach. Credit: Andi Maxwell
On Sunday morning, up to 70,000 people are expected to show up for an energy-fueled, pink-balloon-flying, festive celebration during the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Long Island Walk at Jones Beach State Park in Wantagh.
"It’s very much a party," says Katie Goepfrich Schafer, an executive director with the American Cancer Society in the Northeast region.
But it’s a party nobody wants to be invited to.
To get the proverbial golden ticket, you’ve likely faced a disease expected to tag another 19,000 New Yorkers this year, according to the American Cancer Society. You might have had chemotherapy or radiation or breasts removed, or maybe you’re the family member or friend who has watched the diagnosis and treatment unfold. Or perhaps you’ve lost someone to what is the second most common cancer after skin cancer.
Lisa Aquino, 39, of South Huntington, plans to march in the 31st annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk on Oct. 20. Credit: Lisa Aquino
NOT JUST A FUNDRAISER
The 31st annual walk is the American Cancer Society’s largest breast cancer walk in the country, and it is expected to raise more than $2.3 million to fight the disease and seek a cure. But it’s not just a fundraiser — it’s also meant to draw attention to the need for screening to catch the disease early to give the best chance of survival, Schafer says.
Lisa Aquino, 39, of South Huntington, plans to walk with her husband, Jason, 39, their two children, Jack, 3, and Aria, 8, and about 20 friends and relatives who are part of a fundraising team they call "Lisa’s Army." They’ve raised about $2,500 and are one of the more than 1,000 teams walking.
Lisa was diagnosed when she was 36 after feeling a lump in her armpit while breastfeeding Jack. She says she initially thought it was a clogged milk duct. She showed her doctor, who sent her for testing. "I didn’t even know you could get breast cancer in your armpit," she says. She had double mastectomy in June 2022.
She says she wants to share this message: "It’s important to know your body, know yourself. If something doesn’t reel right, it’s probably not."
CHEERLEADERS AND BANNERS
The walk has a rolling start of between 7 and 10:30 a.m. It is a 5-mile loop of the boardwalk from Field 5 to Field 1. Participating is free, though most have raised money through teams they’ve organized or will give a donation along the route, Schafer says. Walkers can begin the loop at any of the parking fields; along the way they’ll pass school cheerleading teams, musicians and supportive banners and signs. There’s a stage and information tables at Field 5.
At Field 1, the turnaround point, there’s a somber moment when participants leave a marker to honor those they are marching with or memorializing.
Andi Maxwell, 59, of Amityville, plans to walk with her wife, Gail, 57, and Andi’s two best friends. "I will be a champion of others, a lending ear, a kind shoulder," says Andi, who was diagnosed in 2022 during her annual mammogram and sonogram. She has since had a double mastectomy. "This is not something you should go through alone. If you see the volume of people that go to this walk, I would certainly hope you would feel you are part of that community."
Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.
