It looked like a lot of breast cancer awareness marches: a sea of pink hats, boas, t-shirts and hair dye. But in this particular crowd was a bond that ran even deeper than cancer.
Laura Reichert and Susan Allen are best friends who have become more like sisters over the past few months. Allen suffers from stage 3 colon cancer. Reichert watched her beloved grandmother die from breast cancer. They both know the pain in their own way.
What unites the two Tacoma Community College students even more closely, however, is the fact that both women have husband who are fighting in America's wars.
"It's a bond that you can't really describe," says Reichert, whose husband deploys for his first tour of duty in Iraq nenxt year.
"She been through things that I'll need help with, and hopefully I can be there for her, as well," said Reichert.
One way Reichert is already helping her friend is by organizing a cancer awareness walk on their college campus today. The march wound across TCC and ended with a fashion show.
"Having cancer is hard enough, but dealing with it while your husband is away is even worse," says Allen, whose husband recently retunrned for a one year tour in Iraq.
"Just knowing Laura was and is always there for me help so much," she says. "We're both heading into scary places between deployment and cancer. I know it will be a lot easier for each of us with a friend to lean on," says Allen.
TCC is also hosting a fundraiser for the Susan G. Komen Foundation at tonight's volleyball game on campus.
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