After Nicole Tuscano Picaro lost her mother, Cleo Tuscano, to pancreatic cancer in 2008, she was determined to do something to fight the disease.
In 2010, she founded the Monmouth County Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk. Since then, the event has been held every year. The 2019 walk will take place on the boardwalk in Long Branch on June 1.
“I (contacted) the Lustgarten Foundation, which raises awareness and funding to (research and fight) pancreatic cancer, and I got involved with them by participating in events they have,” said Picaro, who attended walks in northern New Jersey and in New York.
“I felt like there were no walks in our area, so I founded the Monmouth County walk,” she said.
The Monmouth County Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk is funded through the Lustgarten Foundation and Picaro organizes the event. The first walk took place at the Manasquan Reservoir in Howell a decade ago.
“This year is the 10th annual walk. Since its inception in 2010, the event has raised over $1 million. … This year we anticipate 800 to 1,000 people and hope to raise over $100,000,” she said.
Picaro said the June 1 event will be a leisurely 5-kilometer (3.1 miles) walk along the Long Branch boardwalk.
“Registration starts at 8:30 a.m., and between 8:30-10 a.m. there will be a raffle, face-painting for the kids, team photos and a selfie station with props,” she said.
Picaro said although there will be activities that are similar to last year, she always likes to try something different.
“This year we are doing memorial seed cards people can make. There is special paper and a person can design or write something on the paper which says who they are walking for. When they get home they can plant the paper and (seeds that are part of the paper) will bloom into flowers,” Picaro said.
Breakfast, coffee, juice and healthy snacks will be provided for the walkers. There will be a small presentation at 10 a.m.
“(Walkers) can go on the website and register. They can create their own fundraising page. A lot of people create a team to make it more fun and competitive,” Picaro said.
The Monmouth County Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk will be held at the Great Lawn in Long Branch, next to Pier Village. Individuals who are interested in participating may email Picaro at monmouthcountypcrwalk@gmail.com to obtain additional information.
Also, you can visit https://www.lustgarten.org for more information.
