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Bahamas welcomes inaugural Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure – Jan. 15th

MIAMI – Fear was not the word Rubyann Bradshaw, diagnosed with breast cancer when she was only 31-years-old, used to describe her battle with the disease. However, it was that emotion that many of her relatives felt when they would call to see how she was doing. Bradshaw always knew the odds of getting breast cancer were stacked against her given her family history. She was at high risk of getting breast cancer at a young age like her grandmother, mother and her sister.

“To this day, my family in the Bahamas still refers to breast cancer as an illness (such as a cold or the flu.) They never use the word ‘cancer,’” said Bradshaw.

For Bradshaw, talking about cancer or even the fact that you have cancer is still taboo in her native country. She is a breast cancer survivor for 21 years and going strong. But, now she is battling something different— to dispel the stigma attached to the disease, so more women will not struggle in silence in her homeland. This month, Bradshaw and many others will have the opportunity to raise funds and awareness of the critical breast health needs facing men and women in the island nation.

On Saturday, January 15 the inaugural Bahamas Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® will take place at Paradise Island. Komen President Elizabeth Thompson, will be alongside survivors and others affected by this devastating disease.

“This event will give Bahamian women and men an opportunity to stop feeling ashamed for having this disease and start talking about it and living instead of dying,” said Bradshaw, who resides in Miami and will be attending the race. She has participated in nine Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate Races as a team leader for Carnival Cruise Lines, a sponsor of the local race.

“Having Komen in the Bahamas means we won’t feel foreign anymore, but part of a larger group, united to find a cure,” said Bradshaw who is also a mentor with Your Bosom Buddies, a local mentoring program for newly diagnosed breast cancer patients.

For more information on the Bahamas Race for the Cure® go to www.komen.org

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