Conestoga’s Doon campus will be one of 63 locations across Canada to host the CIBC Run for the Cure in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (CBCF) on Sunday, October 2. Conestoga employee and breast cancer survivor Susan Paisley will participate in the event for the first time.
Conestoga employee and breast cancer survivor Susan Paisley will participate in her first Run for the Cure at the Doon campus on October 2.
Last year, Conestoga welcomed 1,600 participants who raised more than $337,000 for the cause. The fundraising goal for the region this year is $350,000; Paisley's team, Sooze’s Rack Pack, hopes to contribute $1,500. She said family and friends have been supportive by joining her team and helping with fundraising activities.
Paisley, a long-time Conestoga employee with nearly 30 years of service at the college, was diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2015 - doctors suspect it may be a result of the radiation treatments she received more than 20 years ago for Hodgkin’s disease. The news came as a blow for the single mother of two who did not expect to face another cancer diagnosis in her lifetime. “My children kept me going and I had a great support team to help,” she said. “I wanted to keep things as normal as possible for my kids.”
Paisley had surgery shortly after being diagnosed, started chemotherapy last October and then went through 30 rounds of radiation. She returned to her duties at Conestoga in June. “Everyone’s been very supportive and it’s been good to get back into a routine.”
The Run is the largest single-day, volunteer-led event in Canada to support the breast cancer cause. Since its inception in 1986, CBCF has invested over $360 million in breast cancer research grants, fellowships, education, health promotion and community and peer support programs.
“Our partnership with the College has been awesome,” said Jackie Hergott, co-director of the CBCF CIBC Run for the Cure. “Every year more and more people from the college join in some capacity. We really appreciate the organizations within the college that help us with parking, set-up and tear down.”
“I’m looking forward to the run and I think it’s really cool that we can host it here at the college,” said Paisley. “We registered a little late this year, but I hope my team can meet our fundraising goal and make this an annual event.”
Run for the Cure participants are invited to walk or run a 5km or 1km route through Conestoga’s Doon and Cambridge campuses. To register or donate, visit the CBCF CIBC Run for the Cure website
Visit Paisley's team site to sponsor or join her team.