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East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania (ESU) and Lehigh Valley Hospital–Pocono (LVH–Pocono) will host the 17th annual Pink Light Walk on Thursday, October 5 at 5 p.m. In collaboration with LVH–Pocono’s Dale and Frances Hughes Cancer Center, the American Cancer Society and Prime Time Health of Monroe County’s Area Agency on Aging, the walk is held each year to increase awareness for breast cancer during the month of October.

This year’s Pink Light Walk is organized by the Dale and Frances Hughes Cancer Center’s Breast Health Nurse Navigator, Lutchana Beckford, ESU Health Studies Instructor Alyson Patascher, a committee from both organizations, and other members from the community. “As a long-standing tradition for LVH-Pocono, the walk serves as a movement to unite those of the community battling breast cancer, survivors of breast cancer, or those interested in supporting breast cancer awareness to walk in unison,” said Beckford.

Prior to the walk, at 5 p.m., education tables with interactive programs and information regarding LVH-Pocono’s free mammogram voucher program service will be held in the ESU Science and Technology Center on Normal Street. ESU’s Community Health Organization will be collecting canned food donations to support the Warrior Food Pantry during this time. The Pink Light Walk will begin from there at 6 p.m. and will end at the Dale and Frances Hughes Cancer Center located on 181 East Brown Street, East Stroudsburg, where there will be refreshments and a speech by breast cancer survivor and honorary chair of this year’s committee, Bobbie Long.

Long was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago. After receiving all her treatments at the Dale and Frances Hughes Cancer Center, she decided to become a volunteer with the support group Creative Expressions. “I hand out paper butterflies to patients,” Long said. “It’s an ice breaker, it gets them to open up. It’s also a symbol of hope.” Long will speak to the importance of building awareness and a supportive community. “If there’s one thing I learned,” she said, “it’s that we- patients and survivors- do better together.”

East Stroudsburg University, a comprehensive university in northeastern Pennsylvania offering 55 bachelor’s, 22 master’s, and one doctoral degree, is one of the 14 institutions in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. ESU offers various degrees in health-related fields including nursing, public health, health education, exercise science, athletic training as well as pre-medicine, pre-physical therapy, and pre-physician assistant concentrations. Visit esu.edu for additional information.

Lehigh Valley Health Network includes eight hospital campuses – three in Allentown including the region’s only facility dedicated to orthopedic surgery, one in Bethlehem, one in East Stroudsburg, one in Hazleton and two in Pottsville; 22 health centers caring for communities in seven counties; numerous primary and specialty care physician practices and 15 ExpressCARE locations throughout the region; pharmacy, imaging, home health services and lab services; extensive inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services; and preferred provider services through Valley Preferred. Specialty care includes: trauma care at the region’s busiest, most-experienced trauma center treating adults and children, burn care at the regional Burn Center, kidney and pancreas transplants; perinatal/neonatal, cardiac, cancer care, orthopedics, and neurology and complex neurosurgery capabilities including national certification as a Comprehensive Stroke Center. Lehigh Valley Children’s Hospital, the only children’s hospital in the region, provides care in 28 specialties and general pediatrics. Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report for 21 consecutive years as one of America’s Best Hospitals. Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest, Lehigh Valley Hospital–17^th Street and Lehigh Valley Hospital–Muhlenberg are national Magnet hospitals for excellence in nursing. LVHN’s Cancer Institute is a formal member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Alliance, a transformative initiative to improve the quality of care and outcomes for people with cancer in community health care settings, including access to key MSK clinical trials. Additional information is available at LVHealthNetwork and by following us on Facebook and twitter.