Ashley Levinson is presented with a township proclamation by Mayor Robert Zimmerman (right) and Deputy Mayor Pete Scirrotto for her work in raising awareness of breast cancer in Mantua.
Chestnut Branch Park was the sight of the Oct. 5 Mantua kickoff of Gloucester County Goes Pink Week, the Gloucester County Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk.
The event highlighted the importance of early intervention and featured information tables set up by Inspira and the American Cancer Society, as well as vendors representing local businesses and emergency services available for cancer treatment. The event was free and was capped off with a 1-mile walk.
Before that, Mayor Robert Zimmerman and Deputy Mayor Pete Scirrotto presented a proclamation to township resident Ashley Levinson, a breast cancer survivor who helped organize the event.
“Ashley is a worker, she is phenomenal,” said Zimmerman. “She is the type of individual who was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer last year and is on the mend now, but used that to catapult her efforts to educate people and teach others around us the importance of getting those checkups, going for the annuals, getting the mammograms and things of that nature to early detect.”
Mantua has proclaimed October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month for the last decade, according to Zimmerman, who credited Scirrotto during his time as mayor for starting township efforts.
“I think the event says that nobody walks alone when they have breast cancer, and that Gloucester County is committed to the health of its residents, especially Mantua Township,” Levinson noted. “From day one, when I proposed the idea, they (the township) were all in …”
The event also featured guest speaker and TV journalist Lu Ann Cahn, a breast cancer survivor who detailed her health struggles in a memoir, “I Dare Me.” She praised Levinson and the township for organizing the kickoff.
“I will be turning 68 next month,” Cahn reflected. “I know most women do not share their age, but I do, because I’m grateful for every single year. I was a young mom, a young wife, a young TV reporter at age 34 when I began feeling a large mass in my breast. And I went to a doctor who I trusted. And she told me it was nothing. Then I got a mammogram, and they told me there was nothing there.
“So, I walked around with this thing for six months until I finally got to a breast surgeon,” she added. “It was actually my husband – and I say this to the guys – because you guys are so important to us. (He) said, ‘These people you’ve seen who told you it’s nothing, they don’t know your body like you know your body. You’ve gotta pursue this, you’ve gotta get to a doctor.’
“And so, I got to a breast surgeon who in fact did diagnose me with an aggressive form of breast cancer.”
Cahn’s battle is what inspired her to tell her story publicly to help other women feeling the terror she experienced. Many of the event’s attendees wore pink – the color of breast cancer awareness – to show their support.
“The township committee and I want to thank Ms. Levinson for her commitment to helping others through her own personal experience as a breast-cancer survivor,” Zimmerman said. “Ashley has put herself in the forefront for the betterment of others and our community.
“We are truly grateful.”
