LSU Students Walk With Cancer Survivors for 5th Year

When medical student Nadia Haik was diagnosed with cancer during her first year at LSU Health Shreveport, her entire class showed up to walk beside her. Now in her third year, she's organizing the same event that once lifted her spirits.

LSU Health Shreveport hosted its fifth annual Cancer Survivorship Walkathon on Saturday at Betty Virginia Park in Shreveport, Louisiana. Cancer survivors, their families, medical students, healthcare professionals, and community members gathered for a morning celebrating life beyond treatment.

The event started five years ago when former medical student Tanner Ward recognized something missing in cancer care. Patients needed more than treatment rooms and appointments. They needed community, movement, and reasons to celebrate survivorship.

Haik, who now helps organize the walkathon while undergoing her own cancer treatment, knows this truth firsthand. "You definitely can't do it alone," she said. "Having this community at LSU Health Shreveport just makes it a whole lot easier."

Participants walked together through the park, connected with medical staff, and explored resources from local vendors offering support services. The morning's most moving moment came when survivors rang the park's special survivorship bell, donated in 2018 to celebrate victories, honor survivors, inspire those still fighting, and remember loved ones lost.

The walkathon grew from Survivor Saturdays, a weekly walking group where medical students and cancer survivors meet every Saturday morning at 9 a.m. They walk together, support each other, and prove that staying active helps both body and spirit during recovery.

Why This Inspires

Medical students aren't just learning about cancer in textbooks. They're walking alongside patients, building friendships, and discovering that healing happens in community. When Haik's classmates showed up for her at that first walkathon, they taught her something no lecture could: medicine works best when wrapped in human connection.

Proceeds from the event support the Wellness & Integrative Medicine Program at Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport Feist-Weiller Cancer Center. The program helps patients transition from active treatment to long-term wellness through nutrition guidance, movement support, and mental health resources.

Five years running, and the message remains clear: nobody walks the cancer journey alone in Shreveport.