The Carbon-Tamaqua Unit of the American Cancer Society announced 61-year-old Mary Kreidler of Lehighton will be the recipient of its Courage Award during the two-day telethon conducted as the society’s major fundraising effort.

Kreidler, who has worked as a legal secretary for Attorney John Deutsch for the past 22 years, beat the odds against breast cancer diagnosed in her in 1981 by undergoing chemotherapy treatments twice per month for the past two years.

She will be presented the Courage Award by Patricia Haughton, executive director of the local cancer society, during the telethon that will be aired later this month on Blue Ridge Cable Television 13.