Breast cancer survivors march in Paterson with messages of hope
PATERSON, New Jersey (WABC) -- There was a show of support in Paterson on Friday as breast cancer survivors, city leaders and kids marched with messages of support and hope for a cure.
City workers, police, firefighters and supporters made a journey through downtown Paterson from City Hall to the Great Falls.
"I'm here to tell everybody science has changed and I'm alive because of that science, I thank God for every day," survivor Amy Washington said.
Washington had actually taken her teenage daughter for her first womanly medical exam. She wanted to be a good role model so she got her mammogram first where doctors discovered one breast was riddled with cancer.
"I had a mastectomy, I had three different cancers in one breast...I'm here to talk about it though," she said.
So is Paterson City Hall Officer Kathy Reid, who was undergoing medical tests after a car accident when her mammogram revealed a lump.
"After that i went through chemo for six months on, six months off, I take pills and I'm fine," Reid said.
Tamarra Benjamin is still in the midst of her fight. She lost her mother to pancreatic cancer but said she believes in faith over fear.
Her father is part of her support.
"I got a call from her one day she said, 'Daddy I have breast cancer,' I said it's not a death sentence, you know," her father John Benjamin said.
The message is always the resounding one that saves lives: get checked, get tested, get your mammogram.
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