The Miles of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation has been helping people in the Hudson Valley for two decades.

Melissa Zehr says every day is worthy of celebrating.

"You don't know if you're going to live or die," says Zehr.

That's because 11 years ago, she was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer. Zehr says she was scheduled to have a mammogram a year earlier, but that appointment didn't end up happening. "I didn't reschedule right away and then a year goes by and my cancer was aggressive. If I were to have taken care of it sooner, I could have been a Stage 1 instead of Stage 2," Zehr explains.

Stories like Zehrs are becoming less rare, especially since Dr. Lisa Curcio says screenings slowed down during the pandemic.

"There are a lot of people now that haven't had their screening for years and are coming with stage three and even sometimes stage four breast cancer," says Dr. Curcio who is a board member with Miles of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation.

Not only is Curcio a breast surgeon, she is also a breast cancer survivor.

"I ordered a mammogram on myself because I was having symptoms and I diagnosed by own breast cancer," explains Curcio.

Curcio and Zehr are connected through Miles of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation.

It's an organization that helps people all over the Hudson Valley impacted by breast cancer.

"That's what I call our pillar program, helping people with their bills and their finances while they're in treatment for breast cancer," says Pari Forood, who is the executive director of Miles of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation.

Forood is part of a team who saw an urgent need for something like this 20 years ago.

"This disease is so prevalent, it's frightening," says Forood.

Dr. Curcio says the financial support this organization offers is critical.

"We've had a lot of patients that had a lot of financial toxicity related to treatment where they were thinking about not getting treatment because of the affordability," says Curcio.

There's also a peer-to-peer hotline where recently diagnosed breast cancer patients can talk to trained breast cancer survivors.

"It is so important to be able to speak to other peers that are survivors that will give you hope and show you that everything will be okay," says Zehr.

Miles of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation also offers scholarships for college-bound teenagers whose lives have been affected by breast cancer and, they have something called 'complementary medicine.' That includes funding for massage therapy and other programs aimed at enhancing recovery.

You can find those details plus, how to help with the mission here: https://milesofhope.org/