Community members came together with their furry friends to honor and celebrate the lifelong contributions of canine caregivers to cancer patients during the American Cancer Society Bark For Life event in the morning of Apr. 14, at West Kendall District Park.
The celebration included Debra (Debi) Strochak and her dog Norm, both cancer survivors and each other’s caregivers. Debi, two-time breast cancer survivor relied on Norm’s unconditional love and happy tail wags while she endured her cancer treatment. Today, Debi is in remission. Unfortunately, Norm recently was diagnosed with cancer, so now is Debi’s turn to be his caregiver, spoiling him while he undergoes radiotherapy treatment.
The event is part of the American Cancer Society Relay For Life movement which is the world’s largest peer-to-peer fundraising event to save lives from cancer. At Relay For Life events, participants celebrate people who have been touched by cancer, remember loved ones lost, and take action for lifesaving change.
Funds raised help the American Cancer Society attack cancer in dozens of ways, each of them critical to achieving a world without cancer — from developing breakthrough therapies to building supportive communities, from providing empowering resources to deploying activists to raise awareness.
