Sunset Park remembers Maureen Henry

Hundreds to gather for walk in memory of cancer victim

September 5, 2017 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Participants received balloons at last year’s Walk of Hope in Sunset Park. Photo courtesy of Kim Henry

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Sunset Park residents will gather to remember a local woman who died of ovarian cancer and whose brave battle against the deadly disease inspired her family and friends to hold a charity walk each year to raise funds for research into a cure.

The Eighth Annual Maureen Henry Walk of Hope will take place on Saturday, Sept. 16 in Sunset Park starting at 11 a.m. Participants should enter the park at Seventh Avenue and 43rd Street by the Sunset Park Pool entrance.

Maureen Henry died of ovarian cancer in 2006.

The Walk of Hope was organized by Maureen Henry’s sister, Kim Henry, and a group of her friends and neighbors

In addition to the walk itself, the event will also feature free face painting, music and dance performances, a martial arts exhibition and raffles.

The organizers said 100 percent of the proceeds raised by the walk will be donated to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

“My sister Maureen, who was a mother, a daughter, sister, aunt and a friend to so many, was lost to ovarian cancer in 2006. It forever changed our lives. In her absence, we were left with overwhelming grief and hurt, all I could focus on was what could I do to keep her close now that she is gone? How can I honor her life and memory with a positive message that is meaningful and makes a difference?” Kim Henry said in a statement.

That desire to pay tribute to her sister’s memory led Kim Henry and her family and friends to establish the Walk of Hope.

“It gave me a voice to tell people how important my sister was to our family. I refused to let my sister’s fight with cancer go unnoticed. She is not a statistic or a number added to the already too many that lose this battle every day. This is why I do this Walk of Hope, this is why we are all come out to support each other, because we all have been touched by cancer,” Henry said.

Four out of five women who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer receive that diagnosis only after the cancer has spread outside the ovaries. It is one of the most deadly of cancers for women due to a lack of an accurate early detection test.

Currently, women and their doctors must rely on symptoms such as bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, trouble eating or feeling full too quickly or urinary urgency. Additional symptoms can include upset stomach, back pain, pain during sex, constipation, menstrual changes or unexplained changes in bowel habits.

“Our hope is that we will shine a light on ovarian cancer and be a voice that helps lead to an accurate test that will save lives,” Henry said.