Breast cancer benefit dinner Feb. 22 for Champion woman

CHAMPION

A spaghetti dinner breast-cancer benefit for Champion resident Debbie Lee will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 22 at Southington High School, 2482 state Route 534 in Southington.

It will feature a bake sale, craft vendors, an auction and dinner for $10 for adults, $5 for children 4 to 11 and free for children under age 3.

Lee worked 30 years for a local pediatrician and “gave so much to the community, and now it’s time to give back to her,” said her niece, Jodi Lehmann of Champion, who also is recovering from breast cancer. Lehmann started Team FAITH in 2013 to sponsor benefit events for herself and others with cancer.

Lee doesn’t have insurance and is no longer able to work because of her Stage 4 cancer, so the fundraiser is to help her pay her medical bills, Lehmann said.

Forty percent of women with breast cancer discover the disease through self-examination, Lehmann noted.