by Rachel Hunter
The North Country community arrived in the Gouverneur Village Park on Saturday, October 7 in strong support of the Gouverneur Breast and Ovarian Cancer Fund at its 22nd annual walk.
It is estimated that over $150,000 was raised in support of the fund’s mission to provide financial assistance to those fighting Breast or Ovarian cancer or a cancer that has metastasized from those cancers. The Gouverneur Breast and Ovarian Cancer Fund assists individuals who live in St. Lawrence, Jefferson, Lewis, and Franklin counties providing financial assistance with household, medical, travel, and living expenses during a patient's treatment of those cancers. Every penny of support goes directly to assist newly diagnosed patients with their recovery.
The 2023 Gouverneur Breast and Ovarian Cancer Walk – as is becoming an annual tradition – is held during October (Breast Cancer Awareness Month) to help promote screening and prevention of the disease, which affects one in eight women in the United States every year and 2.3 million women worldwide. It falls soon after Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month each September, the second most common gynecologic cancer and the most deadly one in the country. The sea of pink and teal quickly amassed in the Gouverneur Village Park on Saturday morning, as hundreds gathered joined cancer survivors in walking in honor of a loved one battling cancer or in memory of someone lost to cancer. Pre-registration numbers grew over 100 persons strong before the 2023 walk, with hundreds more registering in-person. The first 300 persons to register received a thank-you bag filled with goodies from the Gouverneur Breast and Ovarian Cancer Fund and local sponsors. Each person who had over $40 in pledges donated received a free 2023 Gouverneur Breast and Ovarian Cancer Fund T-shirt.
First Student Bus Garage of Gouverneur donating its services to all walkers starting at 9 a.m. through the end of the walk ceremonies at the Riverview Recreational Park. Many North Country residents took advantage of the service both to the Gouverneur Village Park and on the return trip following the ceremonies and raffle drawings. Much gratitude was extended to First Student of Gouverneur for its generous donation.
From breakfast available from Dunkin’ in Gouverneur to pink and teal hair extensions and informational booths from medical centers and organizations, there was something for everyone to do in the Gouverneur Village Park. Tickets were available for the Big Button Raffle (featuring hundreds of items from local businesses, artists/crafters, and more) the big raffle (featuring a 22-inch Leslie’s rose gold necklace with a Rose Gold Ribbon with a pink Sapphire and Teal Diamond with accent diamonds (retail value over $2,300), hand designed and set by Harland Brown of Brown’s Jewelry in Gouverneur). New this year, attendees had the opportunity to purchase pink and teal gumballs for a quarter donation.
The 2023 Gouverneur Breast and Ovarian Cancer Fund Walk – held annually rain or shine – saw a great turnout, despite the inclement rainy conditions. Pink and teal raincoats, umbrellas and other seasonable attire could be seen throughout the Gouverneur Village Park as the opening ceremonies began. The Gouverneur Breast and Ovarian Cancer Fund Committee welcomed all those in attendance, including several local dignitaries: New York State Assemblyman (116th District) Scott Gray, Gouverneur Village Mayor Ron McDougall, Town Councilman Curran Wade, Town Councilwoman Lory Whitton, Village Trustee Floyd McAdam, among others.
The crowd was energized by local media personalities, Community Broadcasters’ Johnny Spezzano and WWNY-TV’s Makenzie Piatt, at the onset of the opening ceremonies. The Gouverneur Breast and Ovarian Cancer Fund Committee and its guests this year were on a raised platform from KT Contracting in Gouverneur, due to the recent improvements to the Gouverneur Village Park. Mayor McDougall promised that the Kinney Gazebo would be installed by the 2024 Gouverneur Breast and Ovarian Cancer Fund Walk. The national anthem was performed by Deb Ward of Gouverneur.
The guest speaker was Lynn Tharrett of Massena. “I absolutely love seeing the sea of pink and teal. It is so heartwarming to see everybody here today… This is my ninth year as a breast cancer survivor. I want to start off today by thanking this amazing organization. They have supported me ever since the very beginning. Terry Pistolesi reached out to me when I was first diagnosed in 2014, and she and all of these lovely women have been by my side since. I cannot thank them enough for all that they have done for me, and for the women in our four counties. Thank you.
“When you are little, everyone always asks you what you want to be when you grow up. I knew from a young age that I wanted to be a teacher… but I never remember thinking that I wanted to be a cancer survivor. Yet, from the young age of 22, cancer has been something that has defined pretty much who I am today. In fact, it has defined me just as much as being a fifth grade teacher for 20 years has. It can’t be helped, because what we do and who we surround ourselves with, the decisions that we make, and the major events in our lives shape us like a ball of clay. At 22, I was diagnosed with Stage 2B Hodgkins Lymphoma. I went through nine months of chemotherapy and came out a survivor five years later. When I was 36, I lost my dad to esophageal cancer at the veery young age of 58. At 42, I was diagnosed with HER2- multifocal, invasive ductal breast cancer. Since that time, my breast cancer has been back in my bones and my pleural cavity in 2017, 2019, and this past spring. Last December, I had to say goodbye to my best friend, my mom, also from cancer at the age of 69 – again, way too young. I guess you could say that life has handed me lots of lemons, especially in the form of cancer. I refuse to let it hold me down, because what I have learned through all of this, is that we all matter. But it is also what you make from those lemons that is going to define you. It is going to define who you are, what you do, and how you survive this thing called life. So today, I am encouraging all of you to take your lemons and turn them into pink lemonade with me. Thank you.”
The Gouverneur Breast and Ovarian Cancer Fund Committee was then introduced, including Mona Allen, Judy Bush, Tammy Blevins, Marilyn LaPierre, Bridgette LaPierre, Joey Shelly, and Terry Pistolesi. Much applause sounded for the work that the committee does all year-round.
Mrs. Pistolesi then took the microphone and said the following address: “Thank you so much for coming out today. It is more than we anticipated, considering the weather. Every one of you showed up. That’s what I wanted to say today. I heard from a friend that the most important thing to her when she was sick was people showing up. And I have not been able to forget that. It’s not just showing up today. It’s not showing up the day of diagnosis. But it is showing up when they are going through chemo. It is taking five minutes to send a note to say hello or making that phone call that most of us tend to forget… Show up. All of you today have shown up for every survivor, for everyone who is fighting this disease, and for everyone that we are honoring today in our memory. Thank you so much for showing up. It means more to all of us than you will ever know...”
The opening prayer was then offered by Fr. James “Jay” Seymour of St. James Catholic Church in Gouverneur. The prayer of hope and comfort was taken from Psalm 62.
The sea of pink and teal then mustered out toward East Main Street in Gouverneur to start the one-mile walk to Mills Park, before crossing the pedestrian footbridge to the Riverview Recreational Park in Gouverneur. The walk was led by the Gouverneur Police Department, driven by Officer Sheen, in the GPD-412 apparatus. Next was the Superior Plus Propane’s “Delivering Hope” truck, followed by the Gouverneur Fire Department, and the Gouverneur Rescue Squad. The GPD and GFD assisted with traffic control. Grove and Church streets were closed by barricades provided by the Village of Gouverneur. The sea of pink and teal upon arrival at the Riverview Recreational Park in Gouverneur enjoyed refreshments, the survivor ceremony, and raffle drawings.
Much gratitude is extended to all those who showed support of the 2023 Gouverneur Breast and Ovarian Cancer Fund Walk, including over 80 local sponsors. Those who would still like to donate can mail their donation to: Gouverneur Breast and Ovarian Cancer Fund, PO Box 64, Gouverneur, NY 13642. For more information, follow the Gouverneur Breast and Ovarian Cancer Fund’s Facebook page.