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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A chilly fall wind on Sunday did not stop about 100 people from participating in the Ovarian Cancer Canada Mini Walk of Hope to raise money and awareness for women affected by the disease.

Donna Wong, a Zumba instructor at Curves, leads participants to a Zumba warm-up exercise before beginning the Ovarian Cancer Canada Mini Walk of Hope at the Somba K'e Civic Plaza on Sunday. - Heather Lange/NNSL photo

After warming up to a Zumba class led by Donna Wong, which is a cross between dance and aerobics, participants started their walk from Somba K'e Civic Plaza, along the McMahon Frame Lake Trail to Curves on Old Airport Road and then back to the city hall grounds.

This year's event fundraised $32,000 for ovarian cancer, which included a $10,000 donation from BHP Billiton.

Barb Bird is currently fighting stage four ovarian cancer. She was one of the event co-ordinators who feels very passionate about raising awareness of what ovarian cancer is and fundraising for ovarian cancer research.

Bird said she has been told there is a 90 per cent chance that she will die within the next five years.

"I don't want people to feel sorry for me. What I want is to have people be aware of what ovarian cancer is and how there is no early detection for ovarian cancer," said Bird.

Bird said when ovarian cancer is found in the first or second stage, there is a ninety per cent survival rate. That is why right now, the majority of money raised is being funneled into research to find a way to better detect it.

Bird's hope is with time, more and more people will speak out about ovarian cancer and organize their own walks and eventually it will mirror the success story of breast cancer fundraisers.

"Breast cancer 30 years ago was 90 per cent fatal. Now, it's a 90 per cent survival rate all because people started like this, with the awareness sessions and with the fundraising to get the research out there," said Bird.

Last year, Barb and husband Carl organized the first mini walk in Yellowknife, raising $22,000.

The event's sponsors this year included BHP Billiton, First Air, Curves, Tim Hortons, Inkit, Yellowknifer, M&M Meats, Stella & Dot and the Yellowknife Inn.

Curves manager Marina Whitehead said their team raised $1,600 and were excited to take part in an event that highlighted women's health issues.

"It's about forming a community of women to help them stay fit and healthy," said Whitehead.

Nationally, there were 11,000 people who participated in 46 cities, fundraising $2.6 million to date, with donations still coming in for Ovarian Cancer Canada.

Seventeen hundred Canadian women die each year from ovarian cancer and approximately 2,500 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer every year.

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