Women from across the Brazos Valley are banding together in the fight against breast cancer.

The 6th annual Surviving and Thriving Luncheon was held Wednesday at the Hilton Hotel in College Station.

Proceeds from the event benefit the St. Joseph Cancer Center and the local American Red Cross. But its primary goal is to raise awareness.

"A lot of people live very uninteresting lives because they say they're too scared to do something. Today there are hundreds among you who are scared, but were not too scared to fight cancer," Kathryn Childers told the crowd.

Childers was one of the first women hired by the Secret Service in 1970.

She also spent 18 years in broadcasting as a television producer, local morning talk show host, and host of ABC's "Take Two."

Childers recognizes the importance of early detection, and is one of the founders of Corpus Christi's First Friday program, which to date has given away more than 10,000 free mammograms to women in need.