By Michael Doran
The Warburton Rail Trail was coloured teal on Sunday 24 February when more than 1200 walkers set out from Lilydale to Warburton in support of the early detection of ovarian cancer.
Sue Contarino, a former teacher at Healesville High School, was diagnosed with Stage 3 ovarian cancer in 2013 and when told she had only five years to live she dreamed that ‘Walk with Me’ would become her legacy.
The walk started in 2016 when Sue issued an open invitation on Facebook to anyone who wanted to join her and donate $20 to the cause.
At the time she said, “I’m hoping it’s epic but it might not be, it might just be five people and I don’t care, my aim is to raise awareness that it’s there.”
Sue completed the walk in the first two years before passing away in 2017. Husband Steve has fulfilled her wish to ‘keep it going’ and it is certainly ‘epic’ now, raising more than $166,000 in just three years.
Organising committee member, Jodie Winterton said raising awareness of ovarian cancer is equally as important as the money raised for research.
“Its building awareness and getting a movement happening,” she said. “We want all women being aware of what we are doing and why we are doing it and the importance of research for early detection.”
“It’s really important for women to be aware of their bodies and to take notice if they think something is not right and get a diagnosis. Early detection is the key because it’s a lot harder to find ovarian cancer in the body.
“We spend about six months organising the walk and getting things happening but after today’s long walk it’s time for a little break to put the feet up.”
Wednesday 27 February is Teal Ribbon Day, a day to wear a teal ribbon to raise awareness and remember those who have died from the disease. Ribbons are available at Chemmart Pharmacies, Black Pepper stores or Ovarian Cancer Australia.
Every day in Australia, four women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and three will die from the disease. It is the sixth most common cause of cancer death in Australian women and one in 80 women will develop ovarian cancer in her lifetime.
Donations for Walk with Me can be made to www.walkwithme4oca.com for another four weeks.
