The American Cancer Society asks Beaumont to seek treatment

More than 1,000 people traveled the streets around Lamar University to participate in the eighth annual Making Strides of Southeast Texas event organized by the American Cancer Society on Saturday morning to raise awareness of the public. and to get money to find a cure for bad cancer.

The campus hosted the starting line of the market with food trucks, vendors and a large pink inflatable sofa. An explosion of pink confetti and music from the Lamar percussion line marked the beginning of the event.

In the sea of ​​pink, Dena Collins of Beaumont wore a pink flamingo band and a pink mustache.

"My mother is a survivor," said Collins. "It's because of things and walks like this that we've discovered that bad cancer is genetic. That's why my daughters and I could be tested to see if we were wearing this gene. "

Walmart, Target and Chevrolet were among the companies that participated in the event. Chevrolet dealers in Southeastern Texas raised more than $ 20,000, followed by Walmart, which raised nearly $ 15,000 for all of its teams.

"This is an excellent turnout, especially compared to last year when (Tropical Storm) Harvey braked our plans," spokeswoman Kathy Chessher said. "A lot of that money will stay locally, helping cancer patients in different ways."

This support will include transportation to and from appointments and support groups. The rest of the money will go to research.

The event had more than 130 teams and more than 550 registered. On Saturday morning, he raised nearly $ 74,000 to reach $ 159,500, according to the Making Strides of Southeast Texas website.

"Everyone is touched by cancer," said Chessher. "They fight him or know someone who fought him. This walk is just to raise awareness and raise funds to find a cure. "