Hundreds of people descended on Barr’s Bay Park this evening for the 30th annual Allshores Breast Cancer Awareness Walk.

Participants of all ages visited various stalls at the health fair and took part in a “boot camp warm-up” before embarking on a route around Hamilton.

The event, whereby the community comes together to highlight the importance of early detection and access to care, while ensuring that no one delays screening because of cost, is organised by the Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre and sponsored by Allshores.

This year, the insurance firm — formerly BF&M, which merged with Argus — reaffirmed its commitment to the walk for the years to come with a donation of $3 million.

“I was diagnosed in February 2025 after feeling a lump in my breast. I went to the doctor, where I had a mammogram and biopsy, and it was confirmed I had breast cancer,” said Ranica James, a breast cancer survivor.

The 48-year-old Bermudian, who works as a vice-president of operations at an insurance firm on the island, completed her first two rounds of chemotherapy in Boston but was able to complete her treatment at home in Bermuda.

She said: “The Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre played a big role in my treatment.

“I’m cancer-free. I completed treatment in March of this year.”

On the importance of the walk, Ms James added: “It’s really important. I’m blessed to have a great job and top-notch health insurance, but not everyone has that.

“Doing this walk and donating is really going to go towards everyone to be able to go and be screened and learn about breast cancer, and, if you need treatment, go and get treatment.”

Ms James said: “You do realise it’s not just me, because it’s a lonely process. You have to isolate because treatment takes a lot out of you.

“You feel alone, but you come to something like this and realise, I’m not alone.”

“I was just feeling discomfort so I went and saw my doctor. I had a lot of testing and it was not seen in the mammogram or MRI. However, when they did an ultrasound, they found two lumps,” said fellow Bermudian Brooke Mello, sharing her breast cancer journey.

That was in 2022. After treatment, which consisted of a lumpectomy and radiation, and took place in Bermuda, Ms Mello is now in a good place.

She said: “Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre were so helpful and so supportive.”

“ [This event] is very important — I come every year,” Ms Mello added.

“It’s sad to see all the survivor sashes; but it’s happy to them too, because I know they’re surviving.”

Stressing the importance of going to get checked, the teacher, 50, added: “Listen to your body. Don’t ignore things that do not feel right. Whether it’s lumps or pains, mine was not a lump, it was a pain.”

Abigail Clifford, the Allshores group president and chief executive, said the company, which previously supported the event as BF&M, was in it for the long run.

“We’ve been doing this for 30 years, so this is a really significant day for us, and we’re celebrating that 30 year partnership with Bermuda Cancer and Health,” she said.

“I think it’s important to acknowledge my predecessor, so I just want to acknowledge this is a legacy journey for us.

“The ex-CEO of BF&M, Glenn Titterton, and the ex-CEO, John Wight — they really launched this for us. This is us carrying that forward and honouring that tradition.”

Ms Clifford added: “This is all about long-term partnership for us and really bringing that awareness. So I guess there are a couple of reasons why it’s important.

“One is the funds that we raise are for early and easy access for everybody — there’s no cost barrier. That access fund is very important.

“We want people to have options as well. So that $3 million will expand the services available on island.

“Optionality is everything at Allshores. We want people to have access here to care but also go overseas as well. That option of Bermuda, and being around your loved ones, is very important to us.

“For us this is a walk and a celebration but it’s also more than that. It’s a long-term commitment in making a difference in the communities that we serve.”

The walk’s fundraising goal for 2026 is $200,000. Every donation stays in Bermuda and helps to support access to cancer screening, diagnosis, treatment and support through the BCHC.

Rona Donawa, clinical manager for diagnostic imaging at the centre, shared how the walk has grown and access to treatment on island has evolved over the past three decades.

“The event has definitely grown over the years. We’ve got a lot more support, we have a lot of school engagement, we have companies that sponsor the event, and the whole idea is that you raise awareness and also funding for the centre.

“We give equal access. Patients who don’t have the funding or insurance to provide those services, the centre supports those patients because we feel everybody should be attended to, no matter what their ability to pay is.”

She added: “Apart from the imaging, which we have been doing for a very long time now, we now have the ability to treat breast cancer and various other cancers [in Bermuda] with our radiation therapy department.

“That department has been running since 2017, and it’s approaching the ten-year anniversary next year. We’re really excited about that.

“It just gives patients a peaceful way to be treated in the comfort of their home environment instead of spending time overseas.”

Ms Donawa said: “Early detection is key. Breast cancer is 98 per cent curable if it’s found early. The key is to find it early.”

• For more information, visit the Bermuda Cancer and Health Centrewebsite.