NEW CASTLE —
Hope doesn’t come color coded, but breast cancer survivor JoAnn Esposito isn’t so sure.
When you see pink, be encouraged. That’s the message Esposito wants passersby to get when they notice the brightly colored water flowing today from the Kennedy Square fountain.
“People need to know there’s hope out there,” said Esposito.
October is designated as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Pink ribbons and other pink items have become national symbols of support for breast cancer issues, treatment and especially for finding a cure.
Esposito recently learned she is facing a third bout with breast cancer and is awaiting results of a biopsy to determine her next course of action.
“The fear that I felt the first time is not there now,” she said. “I’ve been down this road before and I will do what I have to do because I’ve got a lot to live for.”
She leaves today for Las Vegas, where the eighth annual Par For The Cure golf tournament will be played Friday and Saturday. The tournament, started by her son, golf pro Brian Esposito, has raised more than $800,000 for cancer research since its inception in 2005.
JoAnn believes New Castle is the most appropriate place for pink to be prevalent since it is the home town of the renowned Dr. Dennis Slamon, who is leading the fight against breast cancer. The movie “Living Proof” tells his story and his work developing Herceptin, a targeted biological therapy that has saved and extended the lives the of thousands of patients.
Issues with the fountain pushed back the ceremony back from its original schedule of noon Tuesday to 11 a.m. yesterday. The fountain had been shut down because water was getting into electrical lines and city workers spent much of Tuesday patching to make it ready. Lights from inside the fountain will illuminate it at night.
JoAnn said it was also necessary for the fountain to be turned off to deplete the chlorine level so it would not bleach out the color. She said air and sun can also have a negative effect on the dye used to create the color.
So in order to keep the water pink during the month, dye must be added periodically.
JoAnn said there is almost an epidemic of cancer, especially breast cancer, in New Castle. “It seems that every day I get a call of who’s just been diagnosed.”
“People everywhere are amazing in their caring and their giving,” she said.
(Email: d_burcham@ncnewsonline.com)
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Related Photos
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JoAnn Esposito, whose battle with breast cancer inspired her son, Brian, to create Par For The Cure, was in the pink Wednesday when she oversaw a project to color the water that flows in the Kennedy Square fountain pink. David Burcham
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Supporters and workers look on as JoAnn Esposito pours dye into the Kennedy Square fountain, causing the water color to turn pink. The water will remain that shade through October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness month. David Burcham
Discussion
Think Pink: Water flows with color, purpose at the Kennedy Square fountain
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