More than 100 people from Starkville and beyond gathered for a cause Sunday afternoon, when Living Life in Pink held its Third Annual Breast Cancer Walk.
The walk was held in conjunction with Peter’s Rock Temple Church of God in Christ and included a float, a pink police car operated by the Starkville Police Department and a 1975 Chevrolet Caprice owned by Oktibbeha County NAACP President Chris Taylor. Many of the walkers carried pink balloons or signs honoring survivors and serving as memorials. The SPD also provided a motorcycle escort.
The walk started at Peter’s Rock, and went down Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive West, turning at Earnest H. Jones Jr. Drive, going past the Starkville City Hall on West Main Street and returning to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive via Dr. Douglas L. Conner Drive.
Linda Rena Young founded Living Life in Pink after being diagnosed with breast cancer herself in 2014. Young is currently cancer-free.
“I had no history of breast cancer in my family,” Young said. “I just turned 51, and I was diagnosed. I learned that breast cancer doesn’t discriminate against age, against your gender, against your background.”
The organization assembles backpacks and distributes backpacks with items needed by women undergoing chemotherapy and other treatments for breast cancer.
“I mentor women that are going through chemo, those that just got diagnosed, those that are going through treatments and also those that are survivors,” Young said. “When you get that diagnosis, my analogy is like someone taking you to the largest Roller Coaster in Florida and strapping you in against your will, and the only thing you can do is ride until the ride is over.”
Young’s sister, Eunice Campbell also participated in the walk.
“This is my second year attending, and it keeps growing more and more every year,” Campbell said. “We’re doing a great job.”
Campbell called the event and organization ‘s growth a “blessing.”
More information on Living Life in Pink can be found on the organization’s Facebook page.