Boothbay's second Breast Cancer Awareness Walk is special to many participants
This year's Boothbay "Breast Cancer Awareness Walk: Let’s Find a Cure” walk drew a large crowd of participants supporting the cause. BILL PEARSON/Boothbay Register
“Megan's Crusaders”marched in memory of Megan Nicole Kilbreth, who died of breast cancer in 2025. BILL PEARSON/Boothbay Register
The march began just after 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 4 at the St. Columba’s Episcopal Church parking lot in Boothbay Harbor. BILL PEARSON/Boothbay Register
BILL PEARSON/Boothbay Register
BILL PEARSON/Boothbay Register
This year's Boothbay "Breast Cancer Awareness Walk: Let’s Find a Cure” walk drew a large crowd of participants supporting the cause. BILL PEARSON/Boothbay Register
“Megan's Crusaders”marched in memory of Megan Nicole Kilbreth, who died of breast cancer in 2025. BILL PEARSON/Boothbay Register
The march began just after 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 4 at the St. Columba’s Episcopal Church parking lot in Boothbay Harbor. BILL PEARSON/Boothbay Register
BILL PEARSON/Boothbay Register
BILL PEARSON/Boothbay RegisterIn 2024, Megan Nicole Kilbreth marched in the Damariscotta Breast Cancer Awareness March. She was joined by her mother, Sherry Hodgdon, her older sister Sarah Winchenbach and other family members. Kilbreth participated in the march several times, but this one was different.
Earlier in the year, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer. “We all wanted to march as a group. So family members and close friends joined us for the Damariscotta march,” Hodgdon said. “She was too young for a mammogram, but she discovered a bunch (and) by the time she went to the doctor’s, it was too late.”
Kilbreth died a year later. She was 36.
Last year was the first year of the Boothbay "Breast Cancer Awareness Walk: Let’s Find A Cure” walk. Hodgdon was joined by Winchenbach and several members of the Kilbreth family who joined 60 others in the fundraiser. The Kilbreth family also wore T-shirts commemorating Megan Nicole’s life. Kilbreth family marchers called themselves "Megan's Crusaders."
For the past two years, the march was organized by Boothbay Region Garden Club. It started at 1 p.m. on Oct. 4 in the St. Columba’s Episcopal Church parking lot in Boothbay Harbor. The march was about one mile in length from the church heading towards Boothbay Region Land Trust trail near Penny Lake.
Previously, Boothbay Region Garden Club members marched in the Damariscotta event, but it ended due to a lack of volunteers. The garden club decided to sponsor its own event in 2025 and raised $3,500. “We had a good turnout last year, but we still need to raise awareness for more screenings,” Garden Club member Brigitte Smith said.
Many of the participants marched in memory of a family member who died of breast cancer. Garden Club member Abbie Shaw marched for her grandmother in Tennessee who fell victim to the disease. "I never knew her. I'm marching in her memory and because it's so important to promote awareness, more screenings, and more research which has improved the (lives of) breast cancer patients."
On Oct. 5, Smith reported the event raised $5,500.
