Charity walk makes strides against breast cancer

Hundreds of people gathered in Shirley Saturday morning to participate in the Long Island Two Day Walk to Fight Breast Cancer in hopes of raising awareness of the illness. "I've been affected by breast

News 12 Staff

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Jun 6, 2009, 11:27 PM

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Updated 5,759 days ago

Hundreds of people gathered in Shirley Saturday morning to participate in the Long Island Two Day Walk to Fight Breast Cancer in hopes of raising awareness of the illness.

"I've been affected by breast cancer my entire life," says Mary Ann McCarrick, of Floral Park. "When I was 8 years old, I lost my mom; she lost her sisters."

About 300 people will walk 35 miles in the course of two days. Many have family members who've had breast cancer. Some are breast cancer survivors.

"The first time we did it, she just finished her chemo, so we're coming back now," says Lee Besser, of Manorville, whose sister defeated the illness.

Organizers of the event hope to raise more than $300,000 with the walk, which ends Sunday at Smith Point Park.

"Every penny goes to organizations that support breast cancer survivors, patients, their families and 100 percent stays on Long Island," says Ginny Salerno, the executive director of the event.