Breast cancer survivor has message of hope at Surviving and Thriving luncheon

Dozens of breast cancer survivors and their supporters came out to raise funds for local patients Wednesday.

The Pink Alliance held its 16th annual Surviving and Thriving luncheon at the Hilton College Station.

The event raises money to support prevention and treatment for patients in need right here in the Brazos Valley.

The luncheon speaker is the woman who has coached the University of California-Los Angeles women's gymnastics team to seven NCAA championships--and is herself a breast cancer survivor.

"My motto is 'Life is short; don't wait to dance,'" said Valorie Kondos Field. "I thought about this when I was hit with the news that I had possibly a fatal disease."

Field releases a book next week with that motto as the title. She says it's a phrase that's helped her cope through it all.

"I thought, forget the whole cancer thing--none of us is guaranteed tomorrow," said Field. "We all have an expiration date; we just don't know when it is."

For more information on Field's book and on the Pink Alliance, see the Related Links.