Julie Rockey describes herself as a Type A personality, someone who is always on the go. Combine that with her love of organizing fun and interesting things to do and you get the Ta-Ta Trot, a fundraiser to benefit the PBCC! Julie was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2010. She was 30 years old at the time and went for a routine ob/gyn exam. She was just checking to be sure everything was fine to get pregnant; a breast cancer diagnosis was the last thing she expected that day.
Her doctor did a breast exam, sent Julie for a mammogram, and within a day she learned that she had breast cancer. Julie was very open about what she was going through and was able to create a large support system with work, family and friends.
While she was going through chemo a friend who was planning a 5K walk/run approached her with the idea, offering Julie the option to select the nonprofit to benefit from it. He also introduced her to Cheryl Delsite, a breast cancer survivor and long-time PBCC volunteer. It was important to Julie that the money raised through the event would be used locally to help women in Pennsylvania. After talking with Cheryl, Julie decided that the PBCC would be the best organization to receive the funds.
Ta-Ta Trot was held in Sunbury, PA on July 9th and drew an astounding 655 walkers & runners who raised over $14,000! Everyone in the community is excited for next year and the goal is to increase to 1,000 participants! All the proceeds from the event benefitted the PBCC in memory of Marie Lamey, R.N., a breast cancer nurse at Geisinger Health System, where Julie is Senior Director of Operations. Many of the volunteers were Geisinger employees who wanted to honor Marie with their participation, and Dr. Victor Vogel, Director of the Geisinger Cancer Institute, spoke at the opening ceremony.
Julie completed her breast cancer treatment in June. She tells other women that she thinks of breast cancer as a life sentence, not a death sentence. She has learned to level out and take a deep breath once in a while. She decided from the first day that she would not let it bring her down. Now, because of having had breast cancer, she has hundreds of friends that she didn’t have before. And probably hundreds more next year after the Ta-Ta Trot!
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The rise of social media has provided the PBCC with additional means to communicate to those who are interested in the work of our organization. The addition of social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter give the PBCC another instantaneous way to communicate and interact with those who care about breast cancer issues in Pennsylvania and beyond.
