For Westside teacher, Race for the Cure is for more than exercise
Each year Race for the Cure attracts thousands of people from around Nebraska. Breast cancer survivors can be recognized by the pink shirts they wear. Photo by Maddie Beda
In a year where media has been dominated by efforts to raise awareness (ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, the Polar Plunge and so on), Breast Cancer Awareness Month is still on the list of causes. Sunday, Oct. 5 annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure will take place at the CenturyLink Center. These 5k walks are a part of the largest series of awareness walks in the world and are filled with emotions from survivors and other people affected by breast cancer in some way.
For Westside physical education instructor Sally Shepherd, the walk is more than just a 5k jaunt. Being someone who has seen the effects of breast cancer through friends and family, she knows what the walk means to those who have seen the disease in action.
“Race for the Cure is very personal for me because my sister-in-law is a 13-year survivor and so every year my son and I race in celebration of her and we also had a former teacher, [retired journalism adviser Rod] Howe, I ran in celebration of his wife who’s a breast cancer survivor,” Shepherd said. “Now Mrs. Henson’s mother is a breast cancer survivor so we are running in celebration of her.”
Not only did Shepherd plan to participate in the walk, she put together Westside’s first team composed of both students and staff members. The winner of the team event will simply be determined by the number of participants signed up. Schools can receive money as well as prizes such as granola bars for the school.
“They wanted me to head the team for the team competition, which I though would be good because we could earn some money for the school,” Shepherd said. “So we went and set a Warriors for the Cure team up again to get kids involved in this.”
Still, no matter the number turnout, the emotional factor and lesson provided by this Sunday’s Race for the Cure is the most important thing to Shepherd.
“[Race for the Cure]’s the most amazing thing to see because it’s huge, number one, but people are already finishing when people are starting, that’s how big it is.” Shepherd said. “And all the survivors wear bright pink shirts so you can see who the survivors are and every year there’s more and more pink shirts which means we’re winning the battle.”
Your donation will support the student journalists of Omaha Westside High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.
