CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The city of Robstown hosted their first breast cancer awareness walk Saturday morning.
The community took the streets to walk in memory of loved ones who passed away from breast cancer and in support of those who are battling the disease.
Breast cancer survivor Sara Lopez is known for hosting loteria events to spread awareness about the disease. This year she partnered with Robstown Councilwoman Nelda Sanchez to host the first city sponsored breast cancer walk in Robstown.
"When I came back home I noticed nobody did anything for breast cancer awareness and myself being a survivor, I thought well let's get it going," Lopez said. "So, I had the first one over at Gator Place and we had about 200 people, women there the first day."
According to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, in 2022, about 2.3 million women were diagnosed with the disease worldwide and 670,000 died.
"This is something that we want to bring awareness to our citizens, not only here in Robstown but of course everywhere. Because breast cancer is one of the leading cancers women face," Sanchez said.
Lopez has been cancer free for 10 years and said early detection is a big key in saving lives.
"Having breast cancer is nothing to be ashamed of," Lopez said. "I know people that have breast cancer but they don't want to tell other people, it's like a stigma and no, no, you're not alone. You're not alone, we're here all together."
Sanchez hopes this walk spurs all women to get regular check ups and cancer screenings sooner than later.
"So, this is to bring awareness to those survivors, those that have lost their battle to breast cancer and to those that are fighting it right now. To let everyone know they're not alone, that there is a community here to support them," Sanchez said.
