In 1993, Candy O’Terry created the MAGIC 106.7 Exceptional Women program, a forum for women who overcome obstacles to achieve greatness in their lives. Co-hosted by O’Terry and Gay Vernon, the Sunday morning radio program has won 29 awards for excellence in women’s programming making it the most successful radio program of its kind in the nation.
When she was 18, Candy lost her mother to breast cancer, and she uses her celebrity status to promote early detection and treatment of women’s cancers. The annual Exceptional Women Awards luncheon has raised more than $150,000 to support patient care and research. Some of this money has contributed to Mass General Cancer Center programs for patients and their families, such as the Take Good Care Packs program, which helps parents guide their children in living with cancer. Backpacks provide families with educational and therapeutic materials that engage children and encourage communication about cancer.
A spokesperson for the American Cancer Society’s annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk and the Pink Rose Foundation, Candy has been honored by the Gilda Radner Foundation for her support in the fight against women’s cancers.
