Marblehead Resident to Serve as Co-Chair for North Shore Cancer WALK

(Marblehead, Mass) –North Shore Medical Center announced that it has selected Marblehead resident Dr. Allyson Preston to serve as Co-Chair of this year’s North Shore Cancer WALK on June 25, 2017.

Dr. Allyson Preston has lived and worked on the North Shore for 30 years. She joined North Shore Medical Center as a staff physician and became Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2006. Dr. Preston is a graduate of George Washington University Medical School and trained at the University of Pittsburgh in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Dr. Preston has taken part in the Cancer WALK for many years. She began participating when her children were in strollers; now her nine-year-old granddaughter is participating for the second time. She stepped up as Co-Chair of the WALK because, as a physician and breast cancer survivor, she knows first-hand what North Shore Medical Center and the Mass General/North Shore Cancer Center mean to the community. She wants to help ensure that they can continue to provide excellent, compassionate, and life-saving cancer care close to home.

For more than two decades, the North Shore Cancer WALK has brought together mothers, fathers, children, grandparents, friends, neighbors, co-workers, businesses, teachers, and students all focused on raising funds for cancer care on the North Shore. To date, this community of extraordinary people has raised a remarkable $22 million. That mission will be celebrated again this year, as WALKers wind their way along the 10K (6.2 mile) route through Salem on an unforgettable journey, driven by determination and inspired by hope.

“As a physician, I’ve been proud to be part of a team at NSMC that delivers world-class, locally based medical care to thousands of patients each year. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014, I had all of my treatment- from testing to surgery to chemotherapy - at North Shore Medical Center and Mass General/North Shore Cancer Center,” said Dr. Preston. “Stepping through the door as a patient that first day was unnerving, but I immediately felt wrapped in a blanket of caring and competence. The high level of care didn’t at all surprise me, but it had new meaning, as a patient.”

Proceeds from the WALK will support oncology services at North Shore Medical Center and the Mass General/North Shore Cancer Center. In the past, WALK contributions have supported new technologies, renovations, clinical trials, wellness services such as massage and acupuncture to help alleviate pain and nausea, as well as supportive care programs for patients and their families.

Registration is now open for the 2017 North Shore Cancer WALK. To learn more or register for the North Shore Cancer WALK, visit www.northshorecancerwalk.org.

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