Walk for hope | PHOTOS

Rhonda Thorpe and fellow Walk for Hope participants.
Rhonda Thorpe and fellow Walk for Hope participants in 2022. Photo by Susie Cunningham.

People with a passion for finding a cancer cure turned out for Beaudesert’s inaugural Walk for Hope.

See more photos at end of story.

The 30 October event, organised by the Beaudesert branch of Cancer Council Queensland, attracted 16 walkers, who walked 5km from Bean To cafe, and several supporters.

One of the organisers, Rhonda Thorpe, said it was a deeply personal walk for her.

“I’m a survivor myself, so I do a walk earlier in the year and we raise a lot of money for the Mater which is where I was treated,” she said.

“It’s coming up to my 12 years being breast cancer free – we want to make everyone aware to be checked and get early detection. It’s about awareness, getting people talking.

“Between Ellen Logan and I, we decided to do a Walk for Hope, and raising any money toward finding a cure is a bonus to me – if it can help my daughter and other people’s daughters not get it.”

She said the walk was for everybody affected by cancer.

“There is not one person who is not affected by cancer in some way, it touches so many people and it doesn’t discriminate. We lose so many loved ones to this dreaded disease and we need to find a cure,” she said.

“I personally lost my sister-in-law last year to cancer (not breast but another form) and have my son’s fiancés father going through his own journey now. So, to me anything that we can do to bring hope to cancer patients and awareness to check ourselves is a bonus. With hope we can save lives.”

Beaudesert Cancer Council raised $300 through the Walk for Hope which, combined with funds raised through their Pink and Blue Raffle for Breast and Prostate Cancer Research, brought their fundraising total for September and October to $2360 at time of print.

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About Susie Cunningham 560 Articles
Susie is an experienced journalist with a love of sharing local stories and being part of the community. She is one of the partners behind Scenic Rim Media - the company that owns Beaudesert Bulletin, Canungra Times and Tamborine Mountain News.