Putting Best Feet Forward Beverly Breast Cancer Walk
It’s become an annual rite of spring and a treasured Southwest Chicagoland tradition. Each Mother’s Day, women fighting breast cancer, breast cancer survivors, their family and friends, Beverly residents and people interested in supporting Little Company of Mary Hospital take to the streets for the Beverly Breast Cancer Walk. On May 9, 2010, the Beverly Hills and Morgan Park neighborhoods came alive as nearly 12,000 walkers made their way along the three-mile course to the accompaniment of cheers, some tears, musicians, a harpist and even clog dancers.
“You can't think of a better way to spend Mother’s Day,” says Nancy Mulcahy, who co-founded the Walk in 2003 with her sister, breast cancer survivor Carol Moriarty, and friend, Lisa O'Brien.
Why go downtown? Over the years, the Walk has raised more than $1 million, including nearly $425,000 in 2010, for the Comprehensive Breast Health Center at Little Company of Mary. Thanks to the Walk, Little Company of Mary was able to purchase two digital mammography machines. Digital mammography provides faster, clearer images and is particularly helpful for detecting cancer in younger women and women with dense breasts.
Proceeds of the 2011 Walk, which will take place Sunday, May 8, will go toward the new Center for Women’s Life and Health, a state-of-the-art wellness and treatment center that is part of the Campus Transformation Project. The Women’s Center for Life and Health will offer women of all ages the full spectrum of health and well-being services. The Center stands to be the area’s first comprehensive women’s health center, and will serve as a gateway to high-quality health services for women and their families.
“The Women's Center is what this community needs and what this community deserves,” Mulcahy says. “It's going to be new, it’s going to be state of the art and it’s going to open people’s eyes. Why should we have to go downtown when we've got Little Company of Mary right here?”
Community pride, community spirit Mulcahy credits that same community pride for the Walk’s continued success. “People can see where the money’s going and they might know people who are in treatment right now at the hospital,” she says. “It’s all very personal and close to home and people want to support it.”
The impact of the Walk hit close to home for Mulcahy recently when she went to Little Company of Mary for her own annual mammogram. The technician thanked her for raising awareness of the disease and for helping more women get diagnosed sooner. “That's why we do it and why we keep doing it,” Mulcahy says. “I hope we don't ever lose another woman.”
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