More than 650 swimmers of all ages and skill levels participated in the ninth annual Swim Across America fundraising swim at Roger Wheeler State Beach in Narragansett this month, raising more than $220,000 to support research in Women & Infants Hospital’s Center for Biomarkers and Emerging Technologies (CBET), an initiative of the Program in Women’s Oncology, and the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.
Rick Majzun, president and chief operating officer of Women & Infants, a Care New England hospital, said at the event, “I am the grandson, brother, and nephew of women who have fought cancer. In fact, the team of researchers right here at Women & Infants were part of the team that discovered a biomarker for ovarian cancer that helped save my sister’s life. Standing there this weekend, with two of my daughters by my side, was emotional and inspiring. I am so very thankful for the clinicians, researchers, and staff in our Program in Women’s Oncology for all they do.”
The swim is organized by Swim Across America, a national organization dedicated to raising money and awareness for cancer research, prevention, and treatment.
College swim teams from across the region – including Providence College, University of Connecticut, Bryant University, Brown University, Roger Williams University, University of Rhode Island, Assumption College, Boston University, Northeastern, Connecticut College, and Holy Cross – attended, creating one of the largest groups of college athletes in an open-water swim in the country. Providence College was the top fundraising school, raising more than $30,000.
Swimmers included cancer survivors, patients and family members, physicians and staff from the Program in Women’s Oncology, the Rhode Island Masters Swimmers, high school and club teams, and Olympians.
John O’Neill, the Providence College swim coach who has helped to grow Swim Across America Rhode Island into one of the largest swims across the nation, asked the crowd to close their eyes and think of one word – cancer. What is the picture that comes to your mind? That, he told the swimmers, is what you should think about if someone tells you that you cannot make a difference. That, he said, is all the motivation he needs.
Sponsors of the event were Coca-Cola, Dunkin’ Donuts, Jersey Mike’s Subs, and Dave’s Marketplace; national partners were Merck, SwimOutlet, Health I.Q., the National Coalition of Associations of 7-Eleven Franchises, and Captivate.
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