Betty Christopher had more than one reason for taking part in Bermuda?s tenth annual fun walk last night to raise awareness of breast cancer ? in fact she had four.

The 63-year-old is herself a survivor of the disease, having undergone a double mastectomy in 1994.

She lost one sister, Verbena Daniels, former registrar of companies in Bermuda, to breast cancer more than a decade ago.

Another sister, Elese Colvin, who lives in Wisconsin, was diagnosed nine years ago and is now in remission. And her mother, Frances Robinson, had surgery for the disease in 1960 but lived for another 37 years.

?I?m here supporting anybody that has breast cancer,? said the retired civil servant, from Somerset. ?I?ve taken part every year since it started. I think the whole idea of making people aware is really important.?

The mother-of-three and grandmother-of-two said her daughter, the lawyer Elizabeth Christopher, was vigilant about being screened for the disease, as anyone with a family history of breast cancer needs to be.

Mrs. Christopher, a volunteer for the breast cancer support group Reach to Recovery, was one of more than 2,000 people who took part in yesterday?s event, organised by the Bermuda TB, Cancer and Health Association.

Four schools ? CedarBridge Academy, Bermuda High School, Berkeley Institute and Bermuda Institute ? also entered teams. Participants donned bright pink T-shirts and set out from Barr?s Bay Park in Hamilton at 6 p.m. for a three or five kilometre walk.

Funds raised will help the Paget-based association ? the largest breast screening facility on the Island ? to buy two digital screening units costing more than $300,000 each.

Association spokeswoman Pauline Girling said: ?Although it won?t take the pain out of mammographies, what it will do is identify cancer early in certain groups of patients.

?It will also mean that we can electronically send the files of women who need to go overseas to a specialist in Boston without them having to leave the country.?

She said last night?s walk would probably raise about $200,000 and the extra cash would be raised by the association, which screens between 35 and 40 women a day, over the next two years.

?This is the biggest turnout we?ve ever had,? added Mrs. Girling. ?Just to see the whole mass of people, it?s just wonderful.

?It?s grown so much over the years but then women in Bermuda are becoming so much more responsible knowing that if they are responsible early enough then breast cancer is not a death sentence.?

Dr. Kevin Hughes, a breast cancer specialist from Boston who has implemented a genetic risk assessment programme on the Island, was among last night?s strollers.

He said: ?I did it to be part of Bermuda and be part of your fight against breast cancer. The number of people is very impressive - it shows real support.?

Allison Towlson, 38, a veteran of the walk, from Warwick, agreed.

She took part this year with nine-year-old daughter Mallory in memory of her mother, Evelyn Mallory, who died of breast cancer ten years ago.

?I lost my mother and ever since then I felt empowered to do something,? she said. ?As small as my part is, I feel it?s so important to raise that awareness.?