On Oct. 4, a sea of pink flooded the Lehigh Valley Parkway. A mother who just had her mammogram, a daughter who held her mom’s hand during chemotherapy, and a husband who has been there since the diagnosis, among hundreds of others, all prepared to walk a 5K in support of people affected by breast cancer.
The Women’s 5K Classic is a walk held in October to raise money for breast cancer awareness. The organization has raised over $4 million in total since its debut event in 1993. The Women’s 5K is a non-profit organization that is fully volunteer run. In 2024 about 1,117 people registered to walk or run the event.
Breast cancer is an issue that has impacted millions across the nation, as one in eight women are diagnosed with the disease. According to the National Breast Cancer Organization, an estimated 310,720 women and 2,800 men will be diagnosed in 2024. With about nine percent of all of those cases being women under 45.
The CDC states, “Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States. (Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death.) For non-Hispanic Black women and Hispanic women, breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death.” As this disease takes so many female lives across the nation, the need for advocacy and awareness has grown.
An Emmaus High School alum, Catherine Garrity Frans, has experienced firsthand what it is like to have a loved one affected by breast cancer. Her mother, Denise Garrity, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014. Garrity Frans reflected on her years at Emmaus with her mother by her side, always there to back up her and her brothers.
“We always had the support of our parents there. They were always there cheering us on. They loved EHS, and loved the school district,” Frans said. “We all had a great experience there, it meant a lot to all of us and still does. We still love it.”
When Denise Garrity was diagnosed with cancer, the family came together and sought a community to help navigate the new chapter in their lives. Teams were formed to support individuals facing this disease, to show them honor and support the community. The Garrity family soon became Team Garrity — their own team for the Women’s 5K Classic.
As the community sponsor, Team Garrity/Compass Point donated $10,000 toward breast cancer research in the Lehigh Valley. According to the Women’s 5K organization, the walk not only encourages participants to get active and lead a healthy lifestyle but also all the money raised continues to fund clinical trials using immunotherapy aiding platinum-resistant advanced ovarian cancer patients.
The organization’s Compassionate Care Fund covers the cost of transportation, co-pays, and medications to allow women fighting cancer to solely focus on getting better, rather than wondering if they have enough funds to cover their life-saving treatment.
Garrity Frans reminisced on what the 5K meant to her, and how her own family has benefited from the walk.
“It [the 5K] allows us to celebrate and memorialize the people who went through something similar or are currently going through something similar, and to surround those people with the love and support that I know my mom greatly appreciated during that time,” Garrity Frans said.
The Women’s 5K Classic is an opportunity for people all across the Lehigh Valley to come together to support women affected by the same life threatening disease. Breast cancer affects thousands of women each year. Something as simple as walking 3.1 miles can be the reason some of those women are able to win their fight against cancer.
