Ann Durr Lyon of Camp Hill, PA passed away at her home on Thursday surrounded by family on February 7th.

Our Facing Cancer Together team is so fortunate to have met Ann and her husband Walter during an interview for this series.  She shared her powerful story about fighting breast cancer and being able to give herself permission to try something new in her life.  She encouraged other cancer survivors to be brave and try something new as well.  

Ann said, "Being encouraged to do something I'd never done before was so strengthening and so important to me. Everybody with cancer should know that this is one of the possibilities." Adding, "It's just the business of hope."

Click here to watch the video interview.

In our interview, she also reflected on her life's adventures and how grateful she was for her loving husband and family, saying:  "85 years... almost every day there was something special."  

Remembering Ann Durr Lyon:

Trailblazing educator, political activist and beloved HACC Professor, Ann Durr Lyon of Camp Hill, PA passed away at her home on Thursday surrounded by family on February 7th.

Ann was born in Birmingham, AL the eldest of four daughters of famed civil rights activists Clifford and Virginia (Foster) Durr of Montgomery, AL.

Over three decades as Professor of Sociology at HACC, Ann taught a variety of popular courses. She especially enjoyed teaching about racial inequality and the history of civil rights. She founded, developed and led the Human Service Program at HACC and attained Emeritus status. She also Co-Founded the Temple University Graduate Program in Social Work in Harrisburg.

Ann founded the Harrisburg Civil Rights Oral History Project. She served as an East Pennsboro Township Commissioner, on the West Shore Council of Governments and the Cumberland Co. Board of Assistance. Ann represented local voters as a Democratic Committeewoman, was active in the league of Women's Voters and the National Council of Jewish Women and helped begin the Head Start program in Perry County

Ann is survived by her husband, Walter A. Lyon, of Mechanicsburg; daughter, Nan Lyon of Columbia, MD,, three sons, Cliff and Paul Lyon, wife Mel of Salt Lake City, James Lyon and wife Diane and six grandchildren; Brittany, Jane, Otto, Greth, Lilly and Sophie

A memorial service will be held 10 a.m. Saturday March 2nd at the Bethany Village East Side Community Center (entrance 1E).

In lieu of flowers memorial donations can be made to:
The Ann Durr Lyon Human Service Student Scholarship Fund
℅ The HACC Foundation
1 HACC Drive
Harrisburg, PA 17110

(Philadelphia) -- New breast cancer research finds no increased risk of heart problems after certain types of breast cancer therapy. Smaller studies have previously raised concerns about heart damage when women with cancer opt for radiation treatments.

Cancer is the epidemic of modern times. Unlike other diseases that have plagued people throughout history like tuberculosis and polio, we haven’t yet discovered a vaccine against it. One of the most common manifestations of this disease is breast cancer, which affects not only one in eight women, but also thousands of men in the United States.

Dr. Shou Ling Leong, an educator at Penn State Hershey College of Medicine, explains that smoking cigarettes in the past was something that only men did, not women and children. But clever advertising campaigns targeted to women and children changed that.

(Harrisburg) -- The fountain behind the State Capitol is roaring with pink-colored water this month in an effort to raise breast cancer awareness.

Harrisburg, PA - October 9, 2012 - While the number of Pennsylvania women undergoing surgery for breast cancer at hospitals in the Commonwealth remained fairly constant over the past decade, the number of women who had both a mastectomy and a lumpectomy in the same year dropped significantly, according to new figures published today by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4). The report also indicated that the number of women electing preventive surgery increased from 2002 to 2011. This latest PHC4 report is being released in conjunction with National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October).

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. One doesn't have to look far to see a pink ribbon, buildings cast in pink light or fountains flowing with pink water. The color pink is associated with the cause so much during the month that everyone knows exactly what it signifies.

When the campaign began in October 1985, the focus was on early detection of breast cancer. That's still an important message, but billions of dollars have been donated and contributed toward breast cancer research and treatment.

Progress has been made. About 2% fewer breast cancers were detected between 1999 and 2005 and death rates from breast cancer have been dropping since 1990.

This episode of Radio Smart Talk explores the impact of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the past and into the future.

We'll also look into current statistics, treatments, research, and what the future holds.

Program guests include Pat Halpin-Murphy, the president and founder of the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition, Leigh Hurst, the founder of Feel Your Boobies, and Dr. Ronald Hempling, a gynecologic oncologist with WellSpan Health.

Listen to the program: