A Couple’s Hope and Strength at ESUSurvivor and Husband Shed Light on Cancer

Rich and Kathy Field walk for Breast Cancer in honor of Kathy’s survival. Photo Credit/Laura Jean Null Rich and Kathy Field walk for Breast Cancer in honor of Kathy’s survival. Photo Credit/Laura Jean Null
Rich and Kathy Field walk for Breast Cancer in honor of Kathy’s survival. Photo Credit/Laura Jean Null
Rich and Kathy Field walk for Breast Cancer in honor of Kathy’s survival.
Photo Credit/Laura Jean Null

By Laura Jean Null
Staff Writer

Feature

One in Eight.

“About 1 in 8 U.S. women (about 12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.” (U.S. Breast Cancer Statistics).

On Oct. 6, a great deal of people marched around East Stroudsburg University’s campus for the annual Pink Light Walk.

A walk, a fight, to support and honor those who are battling, overcame and lost their battle to breast cancer took place.

In a sea of pink shirts, an older couple had stood out as they held hands walking together.

Both had papers taped to their backs reading “I am walking in honor of,” the woman’s paper said “Myself,” while the man to her left holding her hand, paper read “My wife.”

Rich and Kathy Field from Marshalls Creek, PA., came to their first Pink Light Walk here at ESU.

Kathy being a survivor herself went through 15 months battling cancer and going through treatments.

With the walk going from the Science & Technology Center on Normal Street, to Hughes Cancer Center at 181 East Brown Street, I had the privilege to hear her story and about her life.

While conversations were exchanged amongst Rich and Kathy in the crowd, people of all ages filled the streets around them.

Students, staff, professors, people from all over the area came to walk.

Even those who could not walk still came to support the cause.

Babies were pushed in strollers and the elderly road on electric scooters or on the back of the pink painted fire truck, for breast cancer awareness.

While walking towards the cancer center, with delight Kathy said, “I amazed about how many people are here, I didn’t expect it to be this big!”

Kathy and her husband were shocked by the turn out of so many people coming together on a college campus.

The club College Against Cancer (CAC) reported a turnout of an estimate of 150 people or more.

As each year follows the goal for CAC and ESU is to get more and more people to come out and show their support, just as Kathy and Rich did.

In October of next year, ESU will continue to have their annual Pink Light Walk. With another year “Love Hope Fight Survive. We Grow With Every Step” (This year’s t-shirts slogan, with the words in a tree growing).

Email Laura at:
lnull@live.esu.edu