For Breast Cancer Awareness Walk, the streets were filled with support

Lori Zerface underwent chemotherapy treatments Friday afternoon. Saturday, she arrived at the Bloomington Breast Cancer Awareness Walk full of energy and ready to walk.\nShe joined 66 breast cancer survivors and more than 1,000 walkers at the event. The high school teacher wore a baseball cap over her pink bandanna and walked briskly with a smile on her face.\n"I haven't missed a day of teaching," said Zerface, a teacher at Hoosier Hills Career Center. \nDoctors diagnosed her with breast cancer four months ago. Since then, she has included many of her students in her fight against cancer. Ten of her students were present Saturday and Zerface said they also make an effort to attend fund-raising and awareness events every weekend to fight diseases, such as cancer and Alzheimer's disease. Last week Zerface and her students participated in Hoosiers Outrun Cancer. \n"Bloomington is one of the more progressive communities for fighting breast cancer," Zerface said. \nNew technology available has allowed her to continue with her everyday life even though she has breast cancer, she said. Zerface and 65 other survivors were recognized in a short presentation before the walk.\nEach survivor stated her name and how long she had been a breast cancer survivor. One woman had been a survivor for three weeks and another woman for 27 years. In the program, Melody Martin, the walk's founder, was also recognized by her daughter Kelly Martin and presented with a bouquet of pink flowers.\n"Keep fighting the fight," said Kelly Martin to her mother and all of the survivors. \nShe also thanked all of the event's sponsors. \n"I've had terminal breast cancer for 12 years," Melody Martin said from her wheelchair. \nMartin said she formed a committee eight years ago to start the walk to raise breast cancer awareness. She stressed the importance of wearing the T-shirts that were given to the walk's participants.\n"Every time you wear that shirt," Martin said, "you're advertising breast cancer awareness." \nThe common breast cancer awareness ribbon as well as the names of the 51 sponsors who donated $200 for each walker were printed on the T-shirts. \nJulie Daily, a breast cancer survivor for seven years, displayed her support of breast cancer awareness by wearing a baseball hat covered with pins that represent all the events in which she has participated in support of breast cancer and breast cancer survivors.\n"I was very lucky we caught it so early," Daily said. "When you go through it, you get really involved, but as the years go by you just want to live life"