Augusta University’s Georgia Cancer Center hosted its sixth annual Unite in the Fight Against Cancer walk on Saturday, May 4, to fundraise for community cancer survivors.
Despite the heavy rain and gloomy skies, CSRA community members and cancer survivors refused to stay home as many walked in ponchos, rain boots and umbrellas in support of Unite in the Fight and the center’s efforts.
Designed to bring the community together in a shared goal of raising awareness to all types of cancer, attendees walked side by side with cancer survivors in hopes of surpassing this year’s $150,000 fundraising goal.
Hosted outside the Cancer Center research building, located at 1410 Laney Walker Blvd., funds raised from the walk will go towards a multitude of programs at the center to support patient programs, education and new standards of care.
Andrea Rhoden, the center’s breast surgical oncology nurse navigator, said she became a part of Unite in the Fight’s planning committee shortly after being hired because of the event’s powerful and “pivotal” impact on all survivors.
“There’s cancers that get a lot of attention and some cancers that don’t get quite as much attention, or people just don’t even realize are out there,” Rhoden said. “So this walk is for every survivor and all their family members.”
Since its inception in 2018, with the help of attendees, donors and local businesses, the Unite in the Fight Against Cancer walk has collected more than $190,000 and funded several groundbreaking projects.
Examples of programs selected for funding in 2023 included: oral nutrition supplements assistance for malnourished patients, cooler head caps for helping hair loss during chemotherapy, cranial hair prosthesis for chemotherapy induced alopecia and more.
“Without these funds, we wouldn’t have any of [these projects] and our patients would be lacking,” Rhoden said. “We wouldn’t be able to meet their needs and there’s still so many needs to meet, which I think is very important.”
Heading up the center’s cooler head caps project, Rhoden said she was thrilled to be involved in a new service and offer a different solution to patients trying to keep their natural hair.
“We’ll hopefully, within the next month, be launching it and we’ll be able to save patients’ hair follicles during chemo treatments if they want to,” she said. “We’ve never been able to offer that here.”
Prior to the walk starting, participating attendees were invited to enjoy face painting, yard games, live music, therapy dogs, a special VIP patient/survivor room and more.
“All the money stays right here and goes directly back to our patients,” said Rhoden. “It just lets them know that people in the community care.”
First-time attendee and pancreatic cancer survivor Lawanda Everett, diagnosed in February 2023, said she loved the Unite in the Fight walk because it greatly catered towards fellow cancer patients and their sometimes limited abilities.
“Until I started having my cancer treatments, I passed by this building everyday and knew people with cancer, but I had no idea how widespread the problem is. I mean I’ve seen people from high school who are also getting chemo treatments,” Everett said. “And it means a lot to see the community support … it helped a lot with my recovery.”
As the center actively tries to provide for patients most in need and have little to no health insurance, Everett said she was grateful everyday for access to medication and treatments.
“For me, I lost my insurance because I can’t go to work, so events like this help with donations and the fundraising to help patients like myself to get medication,” she said.
In the midst of accepting one’s diagnosis, drastically losing weight and skin elasticity, Everett said it can sometimes be difficult to continue seeing the bright side of life, but community fundraisers, such as Unite in the Fight, can truly remind a patient of their importance.
“When you see a community event like this where people are coming together to be part of it, support one another and get awareness out there, it kind of makes our day a little better,” she said. “It’s very important to keep going and surviving.”
As cancer patients were given free nutrition samples, massages and more in the VIP patient/survivor room, Everett said she was excited to see what new projects were going to launch following this year’s walk.
“Everyday is a learning day and a rearching day to get closer to the cure for cancer,” Everett said. “And for those cancers that are not curable right now, it’s nice for the patients to know that there are community resources to go to – a massage definitely does not cure cancer, but it does help ease your day and relax.”
After walking the event’s mile, Jorge Cortes, director of the Georgia Cancer Center, said he believed the community fundraiser was also significant because it further connected the center’s workers and patients.
“This shows our support to our patients and their families,” he said. “It shows them that we care personally. We’re not just giving them their treatment and seeing them in the clinic like we usually do, but we want to be with them and support them as they walk their journey through cancer.”
Building a culture based on compassion and providing life changing healthcare, Cortes said the Unite in the Fight’s welcoming environment directly reflects his own vision for the cancer center.
“We see them as individuals. They are not just another patient or a number,” he said. “For us, they are one of us and we are fighting with them. We understand the struggle and want to support them in every way – in and outside the clinic.”
As funded programs are selected from proposals written by the cancer facility’s own staff, Cortes said the walk not only directly worked to solve problems felt by the local cancer community, but also had the potential to begin many friendships.
“We get people here from all fields, from all communities, all neighborhoods, all races – everybody comes here together and we have fun,” he said. “So it’s not only valuable for us, but also for our patients.”
Participant Monica Best, who walked alongside family members and her children, said she attended this year’s fundraiser in remembrance of her husband Cable Best, who died last year from a rare soft tissue cancer, known as Sarcoma.
“Everybody at the cancer center was just fabulous to him … and they provide some much needed access to things that some patients can’t afford. It’s really amazing,” she said. “We have such a good time at this event and it really just sheds light on some things. It also lets people feel like they’re doing something to help by raising money.”
The Georgia Cancer Center’s Unite in the Fight Against Cancer fundraiser will continue fundraising for a few more days in hopes of reaching the $150,000 goal.
To donate or find out more about Unite in the Fight, visit: https://fundraise.givesmart.com/form/9VtjuA?vid=15egce
The next major Georgia Cancer Center fundraiser, known as Paceline, will take place on Oct. 13 and will go towards funding innovative cancer research projects, while honoring loved ones.
To register for Paceline, visit: https://paceline.org/
