We create a stage for heroes

Six years after losing my mother to a decade-long fight against breast cancer, I resolved to find an aspect of the disease where I could honor my mother’s memory and make a difference for other families fighting their own battles with breast cancer. For twelve years, brave “survivors” and those walking in memory or celebration have become models at the Runway for Recovery fashion show and helped me to raise funds to help children who have lost their mothers to the disease as well as to provide opportunities for the health care providers who care for such patients. As survivors themselves, the models epitomize heroism and strength, and carry with them the spirits of all those who have lost their battle with breast cancer, and the families and communities that stood by them.

The proceeds from the fashion show, silent auction, and sponsorships of this annual event primarily benefit the Tufts Cancer Center Candace MacMillen Achtmeyer Fund and The Massachusetts General Hospital Patient and Caregiver Fund, under the direction of Dr. Jack Erban. This unique fund addresses many of the financial, logistical, and emotional burdens associated with caring for a loved one with breast cancer, including grief counseling, lodging near hospitals, and other vital comforts for both families of patients and those who provide care.

-Olivia Achtmeyer Boger

 

Photographs from our past: