Mantua hosted the Gloucester County Goes Pink breast cancer awareness event on Aug. 23. Among speakers was survivor Rebecca Rosales Castillo (above, at mic). At right, the event also featured fitness classes.
Mantua resident and breast cancer survivor Ashley Levinson teamed with Making Strides Against Breast Cancer – a group associated with the American Cancer Society – to host the Gloucester County Goes Pink breast cancer awareness event at Chestnut Branch Park on Aug. 23.
The event featured health screenings and information on services for breast and other cancer treatment and to spotlight survivors as a united community, regardless of cancer type.
“No one walks alone with breast cancer,” said survivor Ashley Levinson. “In order to fight breast cancer, we have to do it as a community. I had a lot of support from my family, friends and community. But when I was going through my chemo treatments, I saw other people that were there fighting it alone.
“I wanted people to know that there were resources and support in their own backyard.”
The event also included a 1.5-mile walk through the park, free fitness classes and guest speakers who included other survivors and doctors.
“Two months ago,” noted Gloucester County Commissioner Deputy Director Jim Jefferson, “my mom, a widow who raised two college athletes, myself and my brother, we found out she was diagnosed with breast cancer. That stuff, it just rattles your heart, it rattles your soul and you see what it does to her and how it affects her life. But I’m not gonna back down.
“I’m going to be her rock, but it’s a scary time.”
The event’s keynote speaker was Rebecca Rosales Castillo, a breast cancer survivor who got emotional when she recalled how the illness flipped her life upside down. But despite the struggle, Castillo said she found hope and community through survivors, patients and caregivers.
“I used to hate this color,” Castillo noted, referring to the color pink. “Now I love this color. It’s about courage, it’s about community, it’s about coming together to say you are not alone. Whether you are newly diagnosed, in the fight, or years into survivorship, you belong to a sisterhood and a brotherhood that understands.”
Also featured at the event was a craft vendor village, food trucks and a pet parade, all lending an atmosphere of support for the day’s intended message, that there are people who will have each other’s backs no matter what.
“Today’s Gloucester County Goes Pink event shows that here in Mantua Township,” stated Committeewoman Eileen Lukens, “we believe in the strength of the community, and there is no greater strength than when people come together for a cause that truly matters.”
