OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — It's a marathon anyone can do at just 26.2 steps. The 7th annual mini marathon is bringing people together to educate and support those who have been impacted by cancer.
- Created by Denise Ibsen Cole after her mom passed away from breast cancer.
- Event raises money for Nebraska Medicine Patient Assistance Fund and Hereditary Cancer Foundation.
- Each year, the event focuses on one type of cancer. This year it is prostate cancer.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Tie up your shoes because it's a marathon anyone can do and it's for a good cause. At Cancer Survivors Park, the 7th annual 26.2 Mini Marathon is bringing people together to educate and support our friends and family with cancer.
It's a short 26.2 steps to spread awareness about hereditary cancers. Cancers that are in our family history.
"You know, Thanksgiving is coming up. It is a great time to say, hey, did so and so die of cancer?"
Denise Ibsen Cole created this fundraiser after her mom passed away from breast cancer. Later she found out she was at-risk and wanted to help others be proactive.
"Somebody else is going, oh, wait, what I think is normal is, is not normal. It's normal at the moment to me, but it's not common and I need to get to a health care provider to ask the right questions to see if this is, this is correct or if there's some type of treatment I should be looking for," said Ibsen Cole.
The event raises money for the Nebraska Medicine Patient Assistance Fund and the Hereditary Cancer Foundation so patients can get help with transportation and people can get genetic testing even if their insurance doesn't cover it.
Each year, the mini marathon focuses on one type of cancer. This year its prostate cancer, something Joe Vernon is a survivor of.
"And my wife made sure that we were very proactive. So all those things come together to make people aware about prostate cancer, that men should get checked and should get checked earlier if they have a family history," said Vernon.
Beyond being a fundraising event, it's an opportunity for survivors, high risk families and gene carriers to meet each other and talk about the impact cancer has had on their lives.
"My daughter is now 19 months old and for me, this community means that she's going to be able to grow up seeing other people who are gene carriers of other types," said Sylvia Stone, a breast cancer survivor and member of the Hereditary Cancer Foundation.
Crossing the finish line here isn't an ending, but a reminder of the journey that's still ahead for cancer survivors and their families.
