The American Cancer Society reports that 217,000 people will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019. Those staggering statistics become even more real when you have a family history like Suzanne Wolff, Account Manager, ROAR Logistics, Houston. Rather than surrender to a disease that has taken so much from her family, Suzanne chose to give back and joined a powerful movement to help create a future without breast cancer.
Suzanne Wolff
“This is really something I wanted to do for myself and my mom,” said Suzanne, who has worked in ROAR’s Houston office since 2007.
Suzanne’s mother, Nancy, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003. Nancy battled through surgery, chemotherapy and radiation to beat the disease that year. Sadly, the cancer came back two years later and had spread to Nancy’s liver and lungs. Suzanne and her husband gave up their home to move in with her mother, providing care and compassion throughout her final year of life. At the time of her mother’s passing, Suzanne was just 26 and felt like she’d been robbed of time with her mother.
But this family’s history with breast cancer does not end there. In 1992, Suzanne’s grandmother also died of the disease. Her aunt was diagnosed with the disease early and thankfully treatments saved her. A routine mammogram, something Suzanne has been having since her twenties, caught a calcification cluster which she had surgically removed earlier this year to ward off the disease.
This year, in honor of her mother, Suzanne joined the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in Houston and set a fundraising goal of $1,000. Thanks to support from nearly all of her fellow ROAR associates, Suzanne is just dollars away from achieving her goal.
“I live pretty far away from most of my fellow associates so I figured I wouldn’t get many volunteers to actually go to the walk since its on my side of town,” remarked Suzanne. “Pretty much everyone in the office made a small donation so I have felt a lot of love and support that way.”
Suzanne is one of countless ROAR associates across the country who passionately support causes that are close to their heart. ROAR Founder and President, Bob Rich III, has created a culture of caring that gives meaning to associates’ work and fosters the family bond that knits the cross-country team together.
“People need something to make them feel like they are doing good for this world in some special way. To give back and volunteer gives people a purpose,” said Suzanne. “I think it is wonderful to work for a company that values community and giving back, it makes me feel proud. It gives us all something to feel good about and support, and makes us all feel more like a team and a family.”
She also feels that time spent with teammates outside of work, in volunteer capacities, strengthens their connection, builds memories and makes everyone work harder and rally together through difficult situations.
Suzanne supports the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event because it’s a great cause and a good opportunity to bond with her daughter, but her motivation naturally stems back to those she has lost.
“I’ll do anything I can to help the American Cancer Society come up with better treatments to beat breast cancer so we can have our loved ones around longer,” she said.
On November 9, Suzanne will be one of 1.2 million people who will participate in walks to raise an estimated $60 million this year. The American Cancer Society uses the funds to provide research grants, free rides to treatments, personal assistance and support to patients understanding and managing their disease and care.
To learn more or support Suzanne’s walk, click here.