Sun City resident Shirley Kroot has raised over $120k for cancer research. (Photo by Christine Such/My Sun Day News)
Shirley Kroot, Sun City resident, has raised over $120,000 for cancer research through the Komen Foundation, and currently, for the American Cancer Society.
What prompted her to start fundraising?
Kroot said, “I decided to start fundraising in 2003 when my cousin’s wife died of breast cancer. I sent out emails asking for donations. The first year, I raised $300 with little effort. I thought that with more effort I could raise more.”
Kroot lost her mother in 1971 from breast cancer.
“My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer before there was chemotherapy. She had a radical mastectomy which involved removing her whole breast, all of the lymph nodes under her arm, and the chest wall muscles under the breast.”
Today, a radical mastectomy is almost never done and the ‘modified radical mastectomy’ is performed less frequently than before.
“When my mother died, I thought to myself that that is what will eventually cause my demise. I was diagnosed with stage zero breast cancer in 2009. I had genetic testing for the hereditary breast cancer gene, but did not have it,” Kroot said.
How you can help
Kroot is hoping to raise $5000 this year and currently is over $3000. The link to donate is here.
By this time Kroot had put an all-out effort into raising funds.
What was she doing to fundraise?
“I still sent out emails but my contact list is much larger now. I have a post on Facebook which works well and I have a direct link to the American Cancer Society which has a little bit about my goals and story. I have reached out to businesses that contribute every year. When I was younger, I would walk shopping centers from one end to the other. Most businesses supported me and continue to do so. Covid impacted my fundraising, but people still gave and I met my goal every year. Most years I raised at least $5,000 and one year I raised $10,000.”
Kroot’s Facebook page states “Like so many others, breast cancer is a very personal cause for me. It gives me the chance to make a difference and honor those touched by breast cancer by raising funds for groundbreaking research and service for people dealing with breast cancer. I believe that there will come a day when it will be a thing of the past.”
