74 THE QUEENS COURIER • WELLNESS • OCTOBER 12, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
wellness
Making Strides walk in Flushing Meadows Sunday
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com
Th ousands of Queens residents will
walk through Flushing Meadows Corona
Park on Sunday to support those aff ected
by breast cancer.
For the 24th year in a row, the American
Cancer Society (ACS) will host Making
Strides, an event that aims to raise money
for breast cancer research. Beginning at
10 a.m., participants will take part in a
5k with breast cancer survivors, family
and friends.
Robert Fox, the Queens Manager for ACS,
said the event also has another purpose.
“It’s an opportunity for the survivors
in the community to come together to
learn they are not alone,” Fox said. “Th ey
are not walking on this journey by themselves.”
About 11,000 to 12,000 Queens residents
participate every year and the event
got so big that organizers had to move
it from its original route along Queens
Boulevard to accommodate more people,
he said. So far, Queens has raised
$250,000 and that number is expected to
rise to about $700,000. New York City is
expected to raise about $6 million.
Th e program will start about 9 a.m. with
a host of speakers and a Zumba warm up
at 9:45 a.m. Th en, breast cancer survivors
Queens residents will walk through Flushing Meadows Corona Park to support breast cancer
research.
will cut a ribbon to mark the beginning of
the walk. A DJ will provide a soundtrack
and local groups like the St. John’s marching
band and cheerleaders, R&B trio Diva
Nation and artist Sha Collins will also
perform.
Participants will start the walk at the
Pool of Industry, snake through the
Unisphere, Queens Th eatre, Queens Zoo,
Arthur Ashe Stadium and then back to
the Pool of Industry.
Vicky Rego, a 44-year-old Astoria resident,
is participating in the walk and has
raised about $1,800 for ACS so far. Rego
decided to create a team and partake in
the event because she was diagnosed with
Photo courtesy of American Cancer Society
breast cancer in June.
“It’s been very surreal,” she said. “I
found a lump, I went to the doctor, I was
diagnosed and we started treatment all
within about a month.”
Th ough Rego said she has been fortunate
because she hasn’t reacted badly to
the chemotherapy, there are other side
eff ects.
“Th e fatigue is sometimes completely
unbearable you don’t want to get out of
bed and you force yourself to,” she said.
“Th ere are the aspects of the hair loss
and nail discoloration and your body
just feeling weak. For someone like me
who is very active generally, I was at the
gym four to fi ve times a week, it gets
harder and harder for me to do that.”
Rego’s gym, CKO Kickboxing in
Astoria, decided to raise money and participate
in Making Strides in her honor.
She said the friends she has made at the
gym and her 16-year-old daughter have
helped her through this tough time and
credits ACS with giving her a free wig.
“I’m so not used to asking for help or
getting help,” she said. “You don’t realize
how much help you need. Th is is not
something anybody should have to do
on their own. It’s defi nitely not something
anyone can do on their own.”
Rego added that she is excited to meet
other people who have or are currently
being treated for breast cancer at the
event and said that exercise is extremely
important for those battling cancer.
“Besides the fact that ACS helps so
many people, physical activity for somebody
who is going through treatment or
has survived treatment is just so important,”
she said. “It helps you keep a positive
outlook, helps your body fi ght all
the eff ects of chemotherapy and dramatically
reduces the risk of having cancer.”
For those who want to support ACS
but have not signed up for the event,
you can make a donation on Oct. 15 at
the check-in tent or donate by visiting
makingstrideswalk.org/queens.
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