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Wakefield community throws surprise birthday parade for cancer fighter

"I had no idea that this was going on," said Boyden, who survived stage four breast cancer, but the cancer has moved to her bones and is now chronic.

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By
Luke Notestine
, WRAL multimedia journalist
RALEIGH, N.C. — This is a day that Pam Boyden never saw coming, but she's glad that it happened.

A fire truck, pink balloons and a caravan of neighbors flooded the streets in her Wakefield neighborhood to wish Boyden a surprise happy birthday.

"I had no idea that this was going on," Boyden said.

The purpose of the parade was to support Boyden who is battling cancer. She survived stage four breast cancer, but the cancer has moved to her bones and is now chronic.

"We're all wearing pink in honor of breast cancer," said Boyden's neighbor Allison Hardwick. "We're doing this because she is such a fighter."

"She doesn't like the spotlight on her," said husband Scott Boyden. "She likes to do things for other people, and when people do stuff for her, she's just super touched."

"I'm the luckiest person in the world, and I feel very blessed to have the friends and support that I do," Boyden said.

Boyden's daughter, Susanne, plays college tennis for Cal Poly. Her son Bo played tennis for UNC. Both of their teams honored Boyden by wearing pink socks and shirts. "She has an army behind her," Bo said. "A day like today goes to show the community and support that she has around her, and that we could celebrate her on her big day."

"Pam is such a big part of this community," added Hardwick. "All the people that we spoke to to say, 'Hey, would you line up for this parade?' It was just, 'Absolutely.'"

All of this was in hopes of making this birthday the best one possible for someone who always thinking about someone else.

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