The first-ever Celebrating Young and Strong cocktail reception benefiting Dana-Farber’s program for young women with breast cancer was held on Friday, Oct. 17 at the Boston Harbor Hotel. With over 400 guests in attendance, the event raised more than $115,000 for Young and Strong: The Program for Young Women with Breast Cancer at the Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
WCVB-TV/Channel 5 Boston reporter and cancer survivor Kelley Tuthill emceed the evening’s festivities, which included dancing, live music from The Marsels, live and silent auctions, and the presentation of the Bridget Awards.
The “Bridget Awards” are presented to people and organizations that inspire with their dedication to the fight against cancer and their continuous support of young women everywhere facing a breast cancer diagnosis. The awards were created in honor of two women who fought courageously but ultimately lost their battles with breast cancer – Bridget Slotemaker and Bridget Mooney Spence. The 2014 Bridget Slotemaker Award was presented to Alex and Ani’s Charity by Design for its extraordinary commitment to supporting all Young and Strong, the Program for Young Women with Breast Cancer women battling the disease. The 2014 Bridget Mooney Spence Award was presented to Geralyn Lucas, an award-winning TV producer, author, lecturer, women’s health advocate, and breast cancer survivor. Lucas has spent the years since her diagnosis committed to promoting breast cancer awareness and providing courage and hope to thousands of women by sharing her own story.
About Bridget
Bridget Spence, née Mooney, was diagnosed with stage lV breast cancer at 21 and with the help of her family, looked the disease square in the eye and fought with courage, dignity, passion and friendship. Bridget gave herself fully to finding a cure – while knowing the cure would not likely be found in time to help her. She was Susan G. Komen’s national face the last year of her life and spoke at conferences all over the country telling her story of the shocking diagnosis, of fulfilling many of her dreams, of running out of trials as her health deteriorated, and of the importance of finding a cure.
About Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a principal teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, is world renowned for its leadership in adult and pediatric cancer treatment and research. Designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), it is one of the largest recipients among independent hospitals of NCI and National Institutes of Health grant funding. For more information, go to www.dana-farber.org.
Leave a Reply