Walk for Diane strives to promote early detection

SOUTH BRUNSWICK — Seventeen years after his wife Diane was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, making it her goal to take on the challenge of beating it, John Goodwin is continuing his wife’s battle.

“She became an inspiration, first to her family and then to all who spoke with her,” Goodwin said in a press release.

On Oct. 24 in Buccleuch Park in New Brunswick, The Amy Feiman Behar Foundation for Cancer Prevention Inc. will host its second annual Walk for Diane.

“We hope to fill Buccleuch Park with a sea of walkers,” said Jeff Leebaw of The Amy Foundation.

The 5K walk raises money to support the cost of annual breast cancer screenings for women who cannot afford them. Last year’s walk had around 150 participants and raised over $12,000 for The Amy Foundation.

“It is critically important that everyone gets a chance to have [a cancer screening] done,” Goodwin said.

The sooner a woman is screened, Goodwin said, the better the chance of treatment if something is detected, thereby possibly saving not only a life but a family that could otherwise suffer a devastating loss.

The South Brunswickbased Amy Foundation was created in memory of Amy Feiman Behar, a close friend of Diane Goodwin who was also diagnosed with breast cancer and passed away in 2007 at age 49. When Diane passed on 2009, she was 53.

Arie Behar, Amy’s husband, started the foundation shortly after she passed. His mission was to honor his wife and to prevent the same thing from happening to others.

“Losing someone you love is extremely painful,” Behar said. “Going through that pain made me realize that if some women can be saved, then it would be worth it.”

Typically, a woman diagnosed with breast cancer has a five-year survivability rate. Both Amy and Diane outlived the fiveyear span.

“We got lucky. Our wives were around for their families. Our children got a lifetime with their mothers,” Goodwin said.

The Amy Foundation website states that there are currently 47 million people who are uninsured in the United States, and that at least half of those people are women.

To add to this, breast cancer is among the most commonly diagnoses diseases among women. The Amy Foundation works toward enabling more women to take preventative measures.

The Amy Foundation has been active since 2007 and has raised over $190,000 to date. About $70,000 has been donated to Saint Peter’s University Hospital’s Charity Care Program and has paid for the mammograms of more than 800 women.

The Amy Foundation has also helped a smaller number of women who, after screening, required follow-up testing in order to prevent what may have originally gone undetected and proved fatal.

“It means a lot for us to do this,” Goodwin said. “We’re working on the first step — the heart of the matter of survivability.”

The Walk for Diane is the second major event that The Amy Foundation holds. In the spring, there is a Bike for Amy event. After Diane passed, Goodwin told Behar about his idea and Behar ran with it.

With the need for screenings and early detection so critical, Behar plans on continuing his events indefinitely, or at least until a cure is found.

“As long as we’re facing this problem, I want to continue helping,” Behar said.

To register for the Walk for Diane, visit www.amyfoundation.org. Registration is $35 per person or $70 for families of three members or more. Registration is open to people of all ages and abilities.

People not able to participate in the walk are encouraged to make a donation online at The Amy Foundation website.

Contact Sam Slaughter at sslaughter@gmnews.com.