Stone Pony, other NJ landmarks to be lit for breast cancer awareness Thursday night
The World Trade Center, Niagara Falls and the Stone Pony in Asbury Park are ready for their spotlight.
More than 200 Landmarks around the world — and in New Jersey — will be lit in pink, teal and green lights at 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, to raise awareness and funding for metastatic breast cancer research in the “Light Up MBC” campaign.
At the Stone Pony, Tara Kuipers of Midland Park will deliver remarks on the importance of the cause. She has Stage 4 breast cancer and is the campaign's New Jersey captain.
“I'm going to share two minutes of my story with everybody,” Kuipers said “They're trying to help bring a face to metastatic breast cancer. I want to share with viewers that I was diagnosed at 38 years old. I had no history of breast cancer. All of a sudden, my world was flipped upside down and I was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer. With Stage 4, you have less than a 25 percent chance of surviving past five years. It's disheartening. I have two young children. All I want to do is raise them.”
Kuipers has undergone 18 rounds of chemotherapy and surgery, and said she's feeling better.
“I feel part of the reason I was diagnosed is ... to raise awareness and say to people you can help us and make a difference,” said Kuipers, who will be at the Stone Pony with her husband.
On-site participants Thursday are asked to take a photo of a lit landmark and tag it #LightUpMBC and #METAvivor on Facebook or Instagram. It may shared on the #LIghtUpMBC Live feed.
The event can be viewed via www.facebook.com/lightupmbc, liveone.com, www.metavivor.org and YouTube, according to the group. Celebrity guests in the United States include Lionel Richie; Mathew Knowles, father of Beyonce; Miranda McKeon, “Anne with an E” star; Bruce Hall of REO Speedwagon and more.
The movement began as a tribute to Jessica Noonan Moore of Delaware, who passed away in May of 2017. In October of that year, the Portsmouth-to-Kittery Memorial Bridge lit up in pink, green and teal, and more landmarks have been lit up since then.
More than 685,000 people worldwide pass away from metastatic breast cancer — or MBC, also known as Stage 4 or advanced breast cancer — each year. The term denotes when the cancer has spread beyond the breast to other parts of the body.
METAvivor Research and Support, based in Maryland, is a nonprofit dedicated to fighting Stage 4 breast cancer in women and men by putting “100 percent of donations toward Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer research,” according to the group.
Light Up MBC New Jersey landmarks
Convention Hall, Asbury Park
Stone Pony, Asbury Park
Tropicana Casino, Atlantic City
Benjamin Franklin Bridge, Camden
TRIAD1828 Centre, Camden
Fanwood Municipal Building, Fanwood
Hunterdon County Historic Courthouse, Flemington
Red Bull Arena (Oct. 9), Harrison
Midland Park Borough Hall, Midland Park
Roselle Borough Hall, Roselle
Scotch Plains Municipal Building, Scotch Plains
Trenton Bridge, Trenton
James Ward Mansion, Westfield
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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers music and entertainment for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@app.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Stone Pony, landmarks to be lit for breast cancer awareness
