'Dancing with the Survivors' raises money for breast cancer patients
DURHAM (WTVD) -- A local dance studio is teaming up with breast cancer survivors to put on a fundraising gala called "Dancing with the Survivors" on October 2. The event boasts dancing, music, cocktails, and food. It raises money to help women currently dealing with the disease.
Cary resident Jo Ann Robison knows what it's like. She lived through a cancer diagnosis and subsequent surgery and chemotherapy.
"I had a call from my physician and he said 'You need to find a surgeon today,'" recalled Robison. "I had breast cancer, non-invasive because it was found early with a routine mammogram. That was in 1998."
The good news is that 16 years later she's still cancer free. However, the experience certainly changed her.
"[It] totally gives me a new appreciation for life because I realize how quickly things can change, one phone call and my life had changed," she said.
She actually started taking dancing lessons to cross that item off her bucket list following her ordeal. And it was while she was coming to the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Durham that she learned about the upcoming Dancing with the Survivors event, which she immediately volunteered for.
"Oh yes I did, as quickly as I could," she laughed.
The fundraising gala takes place next Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Durham, featuring both cancer survivors and professional dancers.
"It's like Dancing With The Stars, so fun, exciting, different styles of dancing, slow, fast, elegant, Latin, with the hip action," explained Manager and Instructor Olena Karchanova.
And you can even try your own hand, or should we say feet, at learning some moves.
To prepare for the big event, the dance studio donated eight individual private lessons to each of the cancer survivors.
And similar events will be held throughout the country that same day all benefiting the Pink Fund, which provides people in active treatment up to 90 days of financial assistance covering non-medical expenses such as insurance premiums, housing, and transportation.
Tickets are still available. To purchase one, or make a donation, you can contact the Fred Astaire Dance Studio of Durham, or go the Pink Fund's website for other participating locations throughout the country.
Here are the links:
