BY GIANNI UBRIACO
Sudbury resident Myra Gerow's worst nightmare became a reality
in 2000 when she noticed a lump in her breast and later 
was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The 49-year-old is not alone though. Some 429 other Canadian
women this week will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and more
than 22,000 women and 160 men will be diagnosed in 2006,
according to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
Out of the people diagnosed, 5,300 women and 45 men will die
of it, giving breast cancer the second highest cancer death
rate among Canadian women next to lung cancer.
One in nine Canadian women is expected to develop breast
cancer during her lifetime and one in 27 will die of it.
To the majority of Sudburians, these words are
thought-provoking statistics, but to Gerow, it's a reality she
faces every day.
She's been participating in the Canadian Breast Cancer
Foundation's CIBC Run for the Cure for the last eight years.
The Sudbury run/walk will take place this Sunday at Cambrian
College with registration starting at 9 am. The five-kilometre
event will be start at 10 am.
"I felt it was something I wanted to get involved in, and
then I was shocked and surprised to be diagnosed," Gerow says.
Instead of giving into that fear, she decided she would
channel her energy into battling the disease one day at a time.
Unfortunately her cancer returned two years ago and she's
been in treatment ever since. Still, she hasn't given up hope.
This Sunday, she'll be one of the nearly 1,200 area
residents expected to participate in the five-kilometre run to
raise money for breast cancer research. She'll be competing on
a team made up of more than 90 family members and friends
called MACH Six, which stands for My Amazing Cancer Heroes.
Each year, Gerow's family and friends come up from as far
away as Burlington to walk with her.
Together, they were the top fundraising team in Sudbury last
year and have raised approximately $140, 000 over the last five
years.
"It's been a really inspirational event every year," she
says. "It's pretty exciting and I have some really amazing and
dedicated people who have worked with me on this team ...They
really help me to stay positive and work toward the common goal
of raising funds and to help beat this disease."
Her advice for others who have been diagnosed is to stay
positive, have faith, and take one day at a time.
One particular person who has helped her stay strong is her
nine-year-old daughter, Elizabeth. She was only six when her
mother was diagnosed and has joined her mom in the race every
year since then.
"She's my number one supporter and my number one
cheerleader.
Gerow points out that the funds from the run have gone
toward researching various projects at the Northeastern Ontario
Regional Cancer Centre, helping to transport women to the
Ontario Breast Cancer Screening Program, and helping to change
the way the disease is treated.
"The funds we've raised have gone toward some very positive
research which has directly affected my treatment of this
disease and will affect many others in the future, so it's a
really, really important event," she says.
The Run for the Cure is Canada's largest single-day national
event to  support breast cancer and will be celebrating
its 15th year of participation and fundraising this year. 
CIBC has been the  title sponsor since 1997.
Sudbury will be one of the more than 50 communities across
the country that will be hosting a run.
Last year approximately 1,200 participants helped to raise
$182,000 in Sudbury.
The event's media director, Natasha St. Onge, is looking
forward to the run. Her aunt Gaetanne was diagnosed last year.
"It makes me feel good to know that I'm helping my aunt, as well as the thousands of other women and men who are affected by this disease," she says. "Most people in their lifetime will be affected in one way or another, so it's a good way to try to make a difference and hopefully reverse the affects of this disease."
