COURTESY PHOTO
Dr. Allyson Preston.
MARBLEHEAD — A breast cancer survivor has been named co-chair of Sunday’s North Shore Cancer Walk.
Dr. Allyson Preston of Marblehead has participated in the charity for years. She began when her children were in strollers. This weekend, her 9-year-old granddaughter will walk for the second time.
Preston volunteered, she said, because as a physician who beat cancer, she wants to help ensure excellent, compassionate, and life-saving cancer care nearby.
Registration for the 6.2-mile walk starts at 7:30 a.m. and the walk is set for 9 a.m. from Salem Willows Park on Fort Avenue in Salem. Walkers are encouraged to take shuttles from Shetland Properties at 29 Congress St.
For more than two decades, the walk has brought the community together to raise money to fight cancer. So far, $21 million has been collected.
Proceeds support oncology services at North Shore Medical Center and the Massachusetts General/North Shore Cancer Center.
In the past, contributions have supported renovations, clinical trials, wellness services such as massage and acupuncture to help
alleviate pain and nausea, as well as supportive care programs for patients and their families.
“When I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014, I had all of my treatment, from testing to surgery to chemotherapy at North Shore Medical Center and Mass. General/North Shore Cancer Center,” Preston said in a statement. “Stepping through the door as a patient that first day was unnerving, but I immediately felt wrapped in a blanket of caring and competence.”
Brittany Isherwood of Newburyport was also named co-chair.
She became involved with the walk eight years ago, when she moved to the North Shore. It was one of the first community events she joined because she said it would be a good way to give back and meet new people.
“The walk is a day of perspective,” she said in a statement. “Everyone is impacted by cancer, and every walk participant is carrying someone in his or her heart. For me, it’s my 16-year-old cousin who was successfully treated for a brain tumor when he was 10. He continues to be my motivation to stay involved and raise the bar.”