No matter what Lauren and Grace Simmons are doing, their pink anklets never come off.
Whether its soccer practice, swimming in Lake Winnipesaukee or simply going to school, the recent addition to their wardrobes is there to stay.
Just three simple words — faith, hope and strength — cover the small band, but those words mean a lot to the 10- and 8-year-old sisters from Pembroke.
They began wearing the pink anklets this spring for their grandmother, Suzanne Simmons. Simmons, who is 63 years old and lives in Alton, was diagnosed with stage 4 Triple Negative Breast Cancer in June and was told she had just six months to two years to live.
“It’s probably the worst cancer you could get,” said Simmons.
But that is not preventing Simmons from enjoying the moments she has left. And it won’t keep her from participating in Sunday’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in Concord.
Since 2007, Simmons, along with her two granddaughters, her daughter-in-law, Tracey Doll Simmons, son, Mark, and other friends and family, have been participating in the fundraiser under the team name Saving 2nd Base.
“It’s pretty big for me because we get to walk with family and friends,” said Lauren.
It is a yearly tradition for the tight knit family, and Sunday’s walk may be the most meaningful one yet.
“I like doing it because I get to spend a lot of time with my grandma,” said Grace.
After Simmons’s most recent diagnosis, the family has realized just how precious every moment is. That’s why they have spent so much time together over the last few months.
“She expected to have a lifetime with us and these girls, but that’s being robbed from her,” said Doll Simmons.
The walk won’t be easy for Simmons, who is in the middle of a six-month chemotherapy regimen, but she is ready to join her family in the fight against breast cancer.
“I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be a good day, but an emotional day,” said Simmons.
Over the five-mile stretch that begins and ends at Memorial Field on South Fruit Street, Simmons and her family will join other survivors and families in an effort to bring an end to the disease. Making Strides in Concord is one of seven in the state on Sunday and begins with registration at 11 a.m. There will be an opening ceremony at 12:40 p.m., followed by a survivor procession and photo. The walk officially begins at 1 p.m.
“The people in this community do it year after year,” said Doll Simmons. “And we all have the same common goal.”
There is a three-mile option for survivors and current breast cancer patients, but Simmons is going to do the whole five miles step for step with her family.
“I’m going to persevere and make it the whole way,” said Simmons.
Each participant is asked to fundraise a minimum of $100. As of Monday, according to the Making Strides Concord website, the 178 teams expected to participate in Sunday’s event have raised $225,192.35. Last year celebrated the 20th year of Making Strides in Concord and things have changed a lot since the first one held in 1993, where just $3,000 was generated.
Since its inception, the Concord walk has raised a grand total of $5,390,571 through last year and is the largest fundraiser per capita in the country.
In past years, Doll Simmons has done a lot of fundraising. She has spent weekends outside of the liquor store and writing letters to family and friends. Over the course of the family’s fundraising efforts, which also included Doll Simmons participating in three separate Susan G. Komen 3-Day walks, they have generated about $20,000 for breast cancer research.
“It’s a good way to help people who have this disease,” said Doll Simmons.
But with Simmons’ most recent diagnosis, the family decided to just do self donations of $100 per person for this year’s walk. While fundraising is a big thing for them, they did not want to take the time away from spending it with Simmons.
Unfortunately for Simmons, this is not the first time she was given the diagnosis that every woman fears.
About nine years ago, Simmons was told she had breast cancer and underwent surgery, six months of chemotherapy and a cycle of radiation. And it worked, as Simmons was eventually given a clean bill of health and continued to have one at her yearly mammogram check-ups.
But this spring after not feeling well for a short time, Simmons went for an appointment at the Elliot Breast Health Center in Manchester, where she had been going since her first bout with the disease.
An ultrasound revealed tumors all around her breasts, in her collarbone, neck area and in the lymph nodes under her left arm. Because the cancer had metastasized, surgery was not an option.
“I don’t think of myself as a survivor anymore. I just think of myself as a warrior,” said Simmons. “I don’t even think ‘why me?’ ”
Simmons immediately began her chemotherapy regimen, which has her receiving treatment each Monday for three weeks in a row followed by a much needed week off. And it just so happens that her week off coincides with the Making Strides walk, which will allow her to be feeling her best when the event rolls around on Sunday, just a day before she begins her fifth month of treatment.
“I’ve just finished four months of it and I have two months left,” said Simmons.
Some days are good for Simmons, while others are a struggle with fatigue, nausea and the overall toll of the cancer. But outside of that, Simmons is trying to stay positive and live what time she has left to the fullest.
“We feel that it’s important to make every day matter. I don’t have time to waste,” said Simmons. “And I want to spend my days with the people I love.”
Both Lauren and Grace have also been part of the Making Strides walk since the family began its participation. In the early years, they would walk parts of it, ride in a stroller and be carried, but not now. They walk every step of the way and are proud to be next to their grandmother.
While the diagnosis has been hard on the girls, they know this walk is a way to not only help in the quest to find a cure, but also just another way to spend some precious moments with Simmons.
“It’s about being together,” said Lauren.
“It’s the small moments that we want,” added Grace.
Simmons and her husband, Lew, who have been married 44 years, had plans to travel the world once Lew retired this coming spring. Then the diagnosis made them adjust those plans. Lew began taking what time he could off from work and the couple recently returned home from a trip to California.
While Sunday’s walk won’t likely help Simmons in her fight against breast cancer, the hope is that the money raised will change things for her granddaughters in the future.
“I don’t want them to go through this,” said Simmons. “I don’t want them to live in fear.”
The end goal for Simmons and her family is to put an end to the disease. And with each step on Sunday, the fight against breast cancer is getting stronger and stronger.
