October 18 — Residents take steps to raise money for cure

Come Walk With Me breast cancer benefit brings awareness of deadly disease

Roxanne Cooke / of the Herald

Edna Bench adjusted her pink feather boa so the words “Cancer Sucks” could be seen clearly on her black sweatshirt when she walked down Sumner’s Main Street.

“Yes,” she said. “Cancer does suck.”

Bench, along with 130 other walkers fighting against breast cancer with their feet and money, participated in Sumner’s annual “Come Walk With Me” breast cancer benefit Sunday.

The three-mile walk fund raiser sponsored by the Sumner Downtown Association garnered more than $8,000 for Puyallup’s Good Samaritan hospital, which will use the money for breast cancer research and programs.

Some of that money will go to help fund exercise groups, like Focus on Healing. The group helps cancer survivors regain movement of joints and re-ignite a desire for life.

Deb Makin, 42, from Bonney Lake, has been the program’s instructor for three years and is a nine-year breast cancer survivor. She uses therapeutic stretches and range-of-motion exercises to help cancer patients rebuild their muscles one hour a week at the Good Samaritan Outreach Center in Puyallup. She said the class is not only devoted to the physical side; people who are just diagnosed with any type of cancer usually need a positive emotional boost.

“We have fun, laugh and dance in the class,” Makin said. “It’s a support group more than anything.”

Bench has become an active member in the group since she was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago.

“The healing doesn’t stop once the cancer is treated,” said Bench, from Sumner, who just celebrated her 51st birthday.

In June 2006, just six months after receiving treatment for cancer, she was diagnosed with lymphedema. Her left lymph nodes were removed due to complications from the cancer. She wears a compression garment on her left hand and arm.

Since joining Focus on Healing, she has been able to teach her body to move out cellular waste through the exercises.

Breast cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths for women, but it is diagnosed in women more than any other type of cancer.

In the state of Washington, breast cancer could affect 4,090 women this year, and 770 could die from it, according to the American Cancer Society.

Early detection is the key to survival, said Kris Arnold, 57, a Good Samaritan senior accountant and Sumner resident. She speaks from experience, as the last three generations of women in her family was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her sister and grandmother died from it. She hasn’t contracted breast cancer, but always keeps that thought in the back of her mind.

“I’m not fearful of getting cancer, but vigilant about looking for it and if I do get it, it won’t get the best of me,” she said.

The group greeted the walkers at Sumner Middle School, where they performed a demonstration of the dances and stretches they do in class. Raising awareness for cancer recovery was the day’s focus for Makin.

“We want to provide encouragement through the healing process for survivors,” she said.

According to the National Cancer Institute, women in their 40s and older should have mammograms every one to two years. Those with an increased risk should check with their doctor to determine if more breast check-ups might be needed.

“Women need to be aware of their bodies, and if they find something, they should seek professional help,” Arnold said.

Her mother, Pat Tribbey, 79 and a life-long resident of Sumner, said becoming diagnosed with cancer isn’t the end of the world.

“We aren’t survivors, but thrivers,” she said. “Breast cancer isn’t death — you can survive.”

Freelance Reporter Lorin T. Smith can be reached by e-mail at editor@puyallupherald.com.