Lahey Health Raises More Than $200,000 at Annual Cancer Run & Walk in Burlington and Peabody

Lahey Health hosted its ninth annual 5K Cancer Walk & Run in Burlington and its fifth in Peabody on June 7. The walk is held each year to raise funds for the full range of cancer services offered across Lahey Health. This year, with 1,100 walkers and runners participating, Lahey Health was able to raise more than $200,000.

Lahey Hospital & Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Andrew G. Villanueva, MD, delivered the opening remarks at the Burlington walk:  “The Lahey Health Cancer Walk & Run is such an important date on our calendar each year.  It provides all of us an opportunity to come together to have some fun while honoring survivors, remembering loved ones lost, and reminding ourselves how far we still have to go in the fight against cancer. The funds we raise truly make a difference in so many peoples’ lives.”

Walkers gathered Saturday morning on both Lahey campuses before departing for the walk. In Peabody, participants walked through the Independence Greenway, around at the Albert Street Trailhead and returned to Lahey Medical Center, Peabody. In Burlington, 5K runners circled one large loop and walkers circled twice around the perimeter of the Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington campus.

The Lahey Health Cancer Walk’s presenting sponsor is Salter Healthcare, a family-owned and operated healthcare provider with a reputation for excellence in the healthcare community. The organization has been an annual corporate donor for Lahey Health since 1997, providing gifts totaling more than $250,000. 

“We have all been directly or indirectly affected by cancer at some point in our lives. Lahey Health’s cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment programs provide the community and even the world with state-of-the-art care,” said Richard Salter, President of Salter Healthcare.  “We are proud to be one of Lahey Health’s community partners and pleased to be a presenting sponsor in the Cancer Run & Walk again this year to show our support for Lahey Health and its cutting-edge programs.”

In addition to the walk, participants had the opportunity to enjoy entertainment, children’s activities and educational displays, and heard inspiring stories from cancer survivors treated at Lahey Health.

“The Lahey Health Cancer Walk & Run means so much to me because it’s an opportunity to give back to the doctors, nurses and staff who helped save my life,” Said Gordon Green from Billerica, MA.  “I am forever grateful, because without the initial free lung cancer screening program and the entire team who took care of me, I probably wouldn’t be here to participate in today’s event.”

Lahey Health offers a full range of comprehensive medical and surgical cancer treatment options delivered by board-certified physicians in medical oncology, radiation oncology and surgical oncology who collaborate to bring personalized, compassionate care to patients. Lahey uses a multidisciplinary approach as its foundation for delivering cancer services. Clinicians treating the same patient readily consult one another, review test results and work in partnership on treatment plans. Cancer therapies are designed using the most advanced treatments, research, clinical trials and support resources. Treating the whole patient by understanding the emotional and physical effects of cancer is central to Lahey Health's model of care.

In addition, to support the all-inclusive needs of its cancer patients, Lahey Health offers integrative therapy services, also known as alternative therapy services, for cancer patients. These services include acupuncture, art therapy, massage therapy, Reiki and the YMCA Pink Program, a special exercise program for breast cancer patients based on their activity levels.

In 2008, the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons awarded the Sophia Gordon Cancer Center at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center its Outstanding Achievement Award for excellence in providing cancer patient care.