Second Annual Walk Against Cancer Tara A. Spears - Jaltemba Jalapeno
February 10, 2012

Join us for the Pink Parade on February 14, 2012, at 11:00 am for the 2nd annual Jaltemba Walk Against Cancer/Walk Together for Early Detection.

Once again this year, the event will raise funds to fight cancer. This year the funds will go to purchase Mammogram equipment to be located in La Peñita for the Cancer de Mama Breast Cancer Project.

The Walk starts at Colibri restaurant in Guayabitos, crosses the Bridge of Life, and continues through La Penita to end at Hindi & Jaime's for a street party with food, music and decorated bra auction.

Last year's event was huge raising about 60,000 pesos.

An invitation has gone out to groups in the area to participate saying it will be a great opportunity to show all of the local groups in one place supporting this worthwhile cause.

You can buy a 100 pesos tag to wear as a show of support. Why not get your group together and design a float or banner to make the event even more colorful. Keep in mind that floats will have to cross the Bridge of Life or join the parade on the other side.

The Coast Reporter published the following article about Rotarian Gerry Webb and his contribution to the Jaltemba Cancer Walk:
 

The horror of cancer has led Gerry Webb to shave his head to raise funds for Jaltemba Cancer Walk.

The horror of cancer has led a Gibsons man to shave his head to raise funds for Jaltemba Cancer Walk.

A full head of dark hair at the age of 58 and one has to wonder why, Gerry Webb, a retired RCMP officer, is willing to shave it all off to raise funds for a mammogram machine meant for impoverished Mexican women in the Jaltemba Nayarit area.

Webb who lives half the year in Gibsons and the other half in Rincon De Guayabitos, Nayarit, said he has been hit hard by neighbors and friends who have recently died or have been diagnosed with a form of cancer and he wants to do more in the fight against cancer this year.

"I was involved in last year's cancer walk and paid 1,500 pesos for a bra," Webb recalled. "This year I wanted to do more than that and decided to raise $1,000 dollars for the Cancer de Mama Mammogram."

He decided to get pledges from his friends to raise $1,000 and as an incentive he would shave his head.

"In the last year our good friend and next door neighbor in Guayabitos, Gordie Copp, died on July 10 due to pancreatic cancer. Rick Scowan another neighbor died on December 28 of brain cancer and another friend back in B.C. has been diagnosed with an aggressive skin cancer," Webb said.

Dorothy Bell, the Jaltemba Foundation chair and one the organizers of the walk said the money would be used for a sorely needed mammogram in the area.

"At the moment, women who often earn less than 20 dollars a day have to take the day off of work to travel to Tepic to get screened, then they will have to take another day off of work to get the results," Bell said.  

The result is that women cannot afford to take the time off of work and don't get screened according to Bell.

"Right now we have a wonderful group of people, Cancer de Mama, who are providing a great service to women cancer survivors, providing prosthetic bras, wigs and clothing to Nayarit women," Bell said. "This walk is meant to help Nayarit women get the detection screenings in a timely manner."

Webb's wife Wilma volunteers for the Cancer de Mama clinic and this is his way of "doing something for all the people in his life who have been hurt by cancer."

So far all of his friends and family have been very supportive, however, his daughter Janice Webb did have a caution for her dad.

"Be careful dad, it might not all come back so dark and thick," she said.

You can send Webb your pledge via email at gerrywebb@dccnet.com.

  Learn about Jaltemba Foundation

  Learn about Cancer de Mama Clinic

  Learn about Rotary Club of Jaltemba Bay - La Penita