A group of Newport News shipbuilders recently gathered to raise awareness for fighting breast cancer, and to share stories that hit close to home. October was National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Tiffany Lane (X33), a foreman, said some members of the group have been personally touched by the disease. That included Ebony Armstrong, an X82 superintendent, whose grandmother recently overcame breast cancer.

“It takes a community of support to battle this disease,” Armstrong said. “The more we become educated, the more comfortable we feel supporting other women, encouraging them to get their checkups and not being ashamed to speak up when they have questions.”

Armstrong said her grandmother’s experience opened her eyes to the reality of the disease and the efforts needed to combat it.

“Nancy King, an X33 painter, put her thoughts on paper, drawing inspiration from the words of Winston Churchill, writing: “Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It’s the courage to continue that counts.”