ON BEHALF of Floyd Healthcare Foundation, I would like to express our sincere appreciation to the many sponsors and volunteers who made our Three Rivers Run 5K and 2-mile Health Walk a huge success this past Saturday. Race day brought a glorious fall morning and the race course provided the over 400 participants an opportunity to experience our beautiful local landscape, including the new Kingfisher Trail.

This race is one of many events held during October to increase awareness of breast cancer, and also serves as a major fundraiser for The Breast Center at Floyd.

Breast cancer touches everyone; it may be your mother, your sister, your wife, your daughter, your aunt, your niece, your cousin or your best friend. One in eight women in the United States will develop invasive breast cancer, the second leading cause of death among women in America.

Here in Floyd County, our medical community has taken steps to change those statistics. The Breast Center at Floyd opened in 2008 and continues to provide a comfortable and comforting place for women to come for their breast health care. The center opened to take away the fear of mammography, to increase awareness about breast health and the importance of breast exams and, ultimately, to impact the breast cancer mortality rates for women in our area.

I am pleased to announce this event raised more than $20,000 that will used to fund the technology and services provided at The Breast Center, to educate about the importance of early detection, and to encourage women in our community to schedule regular annual mammograms. Additionally, our goal is to ensure that The Breast Center at Floyd continues to build on the legacy of care already established.

Thank you to the race committee for your hard work; Ryan Earnest, Brian Bojo, Abby Holcombe, Kim Bushnell, Brianna Phillips and Gail Johnson, and again to the many sponsors and donors, you helped make a difference in the fight against breast cancer.