Eric Dunlap and Maxine S. McDaniel

On Wednesday, Oct. 26, hundreds of pink-clad partygoers turned up for the first annual LWSC Pink Day Party at the Lou Walker Senior Center. This fun event was organized by the Center to honor all of the LWSC breast cancer survivor members, as well as their caregivers, and gave them an opportunity to educate, celebrate and raise awareness about breast cancer.

Guest speakers and breast cancer survivors, Maxine S. McDaniel and Eric Dunlap, recounted their harrowing tales of triumph over adversity to a captive audience. Maxine S. McDaniel is the co-founder of the Tickled Pink Foundation, a non-profit organization founded to support men and women who are battling breast cancer. After recovering from stage-two breast cancer in 2011, Maxine understood first hand, the challenges of this disease and established the foundation to provide resources to help people as they go through the process of breast cancer treatments.

Eric Dunlap, a member of the American Cancer Society’s Speaker’s Bureau makes it his mission to share his story to educate, encourage and empower the community. Male breast cancer is rare but incidences are increasing and about 2,600 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected by the end of 2016. For Eric, a dismissed drop of blood on his shirt turned into cancer a year later, and would require a radical mastectomy and six months of chemotherapy. Sixteen years later Eric readily shares his story with radio and television stations, corporations, universities, support groups, and churches.

Joyce Jackson

Some of the LWSC members, both male and female, also shared their challenging stories and were recognized with gifts and tribute dances from the various LWSC Dance Groups. Charles M. Davis, Sr., age 80, (pictured above), retired truck driver and cancer survivor of more than 9 years inspired the crowd with his story; as well as newly diagnosed Joyce Jackson who drew strength from the anecdotes of the other survivors. “I’m so glad we were able to put on this program and honor our survivor members and their caregivers today as well as raise awareness – you never know – we might save a life, if someone goes home and shares what they learned here today or decides to finally check that lump or mole on their body,” said LWSC Director, Bettye Davis. “We managed to turn a very somber situation into a fun, lively, informative event and everybody I talked to enjoyed themselves”.  The only way to beat cancer is through early detection. Schedule your mammogram today. For more information visit the American Cancer Society at BreastCancer.org.

Bettye Davis and Taliah Hasan (MC and cancer survivor)

To view other photos from the event day, click here.

The Lou Walker Senior Center is a multipurpose facility for active senior adults age 55 and older. The 40,000 square foot facility offers spaces and amenities to meet the needs and interests of today’s active older adults. The architectural structure of the facility and programming stimulates the mind and body to remain active.