10th Annual Walk for Diane -- Sunday, Oct. 28 in New Brunswick

Twelve-year-old Samantha Hanlon of South Bound Brook has severe asthma. She takes an inhaled steroid every day in order to breathe. But that won’t stop the seventh- grader from walking three miles for an important cause -- early detection and treatment of breast cancer.

“Asthma doesn’t stop her; it keeps her motivated; keeps her going,” said Samantha’s mom, Suzanne. The Hanlon family has a history of breast cancer. Samantha’s great aunt was diagnosed at 30. Growing up, Samantha heard the family talk about the disease and understood the importance of early detection.

You can register to "Participate as an Individual” or to “Join a Team” or “Create a Team.” Donations also can be made in support of specific walkers, a team or in general. All donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. Registration will close at midnight on Friday, October 22, but anyone who wishes to participate is welcome to register on-site the day of the event.

Samantha, a competitive cheerleader, said the event is important to her because it’s a way of “giving back to the community.” She also enjoys the challenge and comradery of the fundraising process. Through her prior participation in the bike ride and the walk, Samantha has raised nearly $2,000 through the Hanlon family’s registration/fundraising page, http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/SuzanneHanlonFamily/10th-annual-walk-for-diane.

The timing of the Walk for Diane in October coincides with National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The walk is one of The Amy Foundation’s two major annual fundraising events to support the cost of screening mammograms and diagnostic ultrasounds, biopsies to confirm a preliminary breast cancer diagnosis, genetic testing, and to assist with costs associated with the early detection process for uninsured and underinsured women in central New Jersey. The other signature event is the “Bike Ride for Amy,” held every spring.

This will be the third Walk for Diane for Samantha and the Hanlon family. They also have participated three times in the Bike Ride for Amy. “The second time we did it,” Suzanne Hanlon said of the bike ride, “I got tired on the 15-mile course and hitched a ride with a chaser car. Samantha said: ‘Mom, I don’t want to hear you’re tired. I can’t breathe.’”

The Amy Foundation, based in North Brunswick, was created in memory of Amy Feiman Behar, a South Brunswick resident who died of breast cancer in 2007 at 49. The “Walk for Diane” honors Diane Goodwin, a close friend of Amy’s and fellow South Brunswick resident, who was 53 when she died of breast cancer in 2009. Both women were inspirations for their courage and strength, and for their desire to help others.

Goodwin, a member of The Amy Foundation Board of Trustees, also views the importance of the Walk for Diane in the context of the continuing uncertainty about health insurance markets in the United States. “We are concerned that increasing numbers of women may be without the financial means to obtain vital early breast cancer detection measures,” he added. “So we strongly encourage individuals, families, friends, neighbors and co-workers to walk with us to remember those who lost their lives to breast cancer; those currently fighting this devastating disease, and to think of those whose lives may be saved because of your participation.”

The foundation’s mission is to provide educational opportunities for underserved women to understand the need for early detection; to increase early detection measures among these women; and to work with professionals in the field to determine how early breast cancer detection is best accomplished. Women served through support from the foundation are low income. Although insurance may be available, many uninsured and underinsured patients opt out of purchasing insurance because premiums are unaffordable, or, if they can afford less expensive insurance, they cannot afford co-pays and opt out of medical procedures.

To date, the foundation has raised more than $700,000 and has helped more than 3,400 women. Early detection procedures help doctors “see” breast cancer before a lump can be felt, when the cure rates are nearly 100%.

These vital life-saving procedures are made possible through foundation partnerships and programs that began with Saint Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick and later expanded to include Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey (RCINJ), both in New Brunswick; and Penn Medicine at Princeton Health in Plainsboro.

A brunch will be available for all walkers and volunteers at Saint Peter’s Breast Health Center immediately following the event.

(The Amy Feiman Behar Foundation for Cancer Prevention Inc. was established in 2007 and has been approved by the Internal Revenue Service as a public charity exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions to The Amy Foundation are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.)