JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. –
Donning multiple shades of pink, employees of the Defense Commissary Agency and Team Andrews members took a stand against cancer by uniting to form a human ribbon, Oct. 25, at the Breast Cancer Awareness event held at the commissary here.
The ceremony began at 8:30 a.m. with an aerial photo of the human ribbon. Next, Mark Crockett, 11th Mission Support Group deputy, represented the 11th Wing in support of Herbert Ruffin, DeCA store manager's, initiative.
After Crockett welcomed the pink-clad crowd, Forestville Military Academy Army JROTC students performed a presentation of the colors. All in attendance placed their hand over their heart or stood at the position of attention to pledge allegiance to the flag.
The Revelation in Christ pastor Janet Bandy Ph. D., gave an invocation to further unite the participants and solidify their commitment of hope for a cure and survival for those affected.
"Pink stands for softness, comfort, peace and love," Bandy said. "Us coming together and celebrating is a good day the Lord has made."
On an occasion which can be heartbreaking for some, the message she delivered was one of encouragement.
We are all going to die from something; but whatever it is, we cannot let it take our joy, Bandy said.
"Getting sad, depressed and low doesn't help," she said. "You have to stay excited about life. Look how many people have survived. You have to claim the victory."
Ruffin himself is a survivor. Along with surviving enemy fire and earning a purple heart in Vietnam, Ruffin survived his own bout with cancer, he said.
"I am a cancer survivor," Ruffin said. "Six years ago I was blessed with finding out about my cancer diagnosis. At that time I was 57 years old. It was a second chance at life, and I thank God for it."
Ruffin was determined to share his story because many loved ones in his life suffered from the disease.
"I was devastated when I first found out," he said. "In order for me to deal with it I had to publicize it and share my story with others. Breast cancer, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, colon cancer and more have taken the lives of people and sometimes without warning."
His message was about taking your care into your own hands.
"Eating a lot of fatty type foods and white bread can be harmful," he said. "I eat more raw vegetables."
I also inquired about my lab results, he said. I did my own research about the changes in my blood tests over time and got second opinions when I felt something was awry; being proactive lead to early detection and treatment.
When Ruffin was notified by DeCA about celebrating the awareness month, he said he wanted to do something big to bring people together, network and find resources to help them and their loved ones.
Ruffin said he is passionate about promoting awareness and building a community of survivors.
"We hope to make this an annual event and each year to have the bow to grow in size with more and
more participants," said Ruffin.
The Commissary gave health and nutritional handouts, raffled tickets to the Redskins game and jerseys, and many of the sponsors gave away $25 gift certificates to random customers at the commissary that day.
For further information on how to participate in future events, call 240-857-6512.