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12 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday July 23, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Swim for the Cure hopes to top $100,000 mark Saturday By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Around 20 swimmers are hoping for wind at their backs and not too much sun during the eighth annual Swim for the Cure, set for Saturday. The endurance swim, which will take place on a 12.8 with this coupon only Semi-Annual % EVERYTHING 30 OFF Expires August 10, 2008 SUMMER SALE J.A. Henkels, Wusthof Knives, Ceramic Knives, Le Creuset, Global, Riedel Wine Glasses, OXO Good Grips, Peugeot Pepper Mills, Small Appliances, Barware, All-clad Cookware, Emilie Henry, Breathable Wine Glasses, Schott Zwiesel Glassware,Yankee Candles, Cuisipro Gadgets & much, much more! Kitchenware Glassware & Home Decor Oakville Town Centre 1320 North Service Rd. 905-338-2657 Milton Loblaws Millcroft Location Super Centre Plaza 840 Main St. East 905-335-0194 905-876-3687 km stretch of the Severn River, to date has raised $76,000 to help fight breast cancer. This year, swim organizer/Oakville resident Debbie Bang is hoping to see that total reach $100,000. Completing long-distance swims well before establishing Swim for the Cure, Bang's involvement in the fight against breast cancer is personal and dates back to her childhood when she learned her grandmother had the dreaded disease. "I was 10 when we found her breast cancer," she said. "Ten-year-olds are very impressionable. It had a pretty profound effect on me because I was wrestling with her and racing around the backyard when we found it." This incident combined with an aunt's diagnosis of breast cancer would shape some of Bang's career paths as today she is a nurse whose responsibilities include research involving women and families with breast cancer. "It's a very scary disease. It requires people to draw on strength that they don't know they have," said Bang. "Part of why I swim is to keep sharing the hope. To provide a way for people to talk about it, to think about it and to believe that they're going to be okay." Initially swimming with a friend to support a children's charity, Bang broke away to swim for breast cancer in 2001. Her cause has attracted others with a total of 73 people participating in the charity's seven swims thus far while more than 100 volunteers have supported the swim by preparing food afterwards, manning rescue boats, taking pictures and performing a variety of other tasks. The swim begins at Swift Rapids, the tallest lock of the Trent/Severn system, and finishes at Big Chute lock 44, five to 10 hours later, depending on the weather conditions and the individual pace of the swimmers. Swim for the Cure participants have received strong support from local cottage goers. "They cheer from the shoreline and when we've had people who were struggling they have helped get them out of the water," said Bang. "As a swimmer it's very powerful to have someone standing there clapping. It's one of those indescribable kinds of things because you're out there doing your best, but there's points in the swim where you say, `Okay, whose idea was this?'" Besides raising money for breast cancer research, Bang noted that by swimming, the participants will be decreasing their own chances of being diagnosed with breast cancer. The Canadian Breast Cancer Research Initiative has identified that women who are active throughout their lives cut their risk of developing breast cancer by 42 per cent. Donations can be made directly to the Canadian Cancer Society through the Orillia and District Unit, which can be contacted at 705-326-9587 or 1-800-5557922. Donations can also be made on the swimmers tribute website at: http://convio.cancer.ca/site/TR/Events/TRIB_ON_C elebration_of_Life?px=1487874=fund_id =1300.