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cancer makes Brewster SRP 'try new things' September 25, 2002 Joanne Colombo has breast cancer to thank for many aspects of her life."When you don't know how much time you have left, it makes you try new things," said Colombo, a payroll clerk and member of the Brewster Teachers Association in the mid-Hudson Valley. On Oct. 20, Colombo will join hundreds of other union activists on a march through Lake Placid in the north country to raise money for the American Cancer Society. The march is part of this year's New York State United Teachers School-Related Professionals conference. "I will get a chance to combine two of my causes, increasing awareness about breast cancer, and increasing awareness and building solidarity within my statewide union," said Colombo. She recalls her first NYSUT SRP conference five years ago, riding on a train to Rochester - something out of character before her breast cancer diagnosis seven years ago. "I would never have had the courage to go to a conference by myself, where I didn't know anybody, before I'd had the surgery," Colombo said. "It made me face my fears, which opened me up to meeting more people and getting more involved in my union." Now she serves on the statewide advisory committee that plans the conference. NYSUT is a new statewide flagship sponsor of the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walks sponsored by the American Cancer Society. The non-competitive walks support the American Cancer Society's efforts to fight breast cancer, which strikes one in eight women. More infrequently, it also strikes men. Like the others, the Lake Placid walk is open to all. "We welcome our brothers and sisters who work in health care, colleges and K-12 schools," said Mary Jo Roberge, a teaching assistant who chairs the advisory committee. Roberge is a member of the North Syracuse Education Association. "As a survivor, my experience is: The more people who know, the better it is," said Colombo. - Betsy Sandberg |
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