Why I Walk

You may be wondering why I walk. There really are so many reasons, but here are a couple that I want to share. I guess it has been over 40 years ago that my mother moved away from home to attend nursing school. At nursing school she became very good friends with another student named Barbara. Even after my mom completed school and moved back home, she stayed in touch with Barbara. I have many fond childhood memories of our family visiting Barbara's family over the years. Barbara was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was in my teens. She bravely battled the cancer for years. The most vivid memory that I have of Barbara is an image of her in a hospital bed in her living room during the last few days of her life. I feel blessed to have known Barbara for the short time that I did. During my early 20s I was fortunate to meet and make a very good friend at college. This friendship has continued for 15 years now. Over the years this friend has found lumps in her breast which have been tested and in some cases removed. Fortunately she has never been diagnosed with breast cancer. After I graduated from college and moved to the Washington D.C. area, I started participating in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K walk each summer. This event became a tradition for the 10 years that I lived in the area. I would meet up with two close friends each year at the crack of dawn and we would head down to the national mall for the event. It was a wonderful community of walkers and an opportunity to support the cause in a small way each year. Then in 2001 I saw a commercial for the Avon 3-Day Breast Cancer event. This event included a challenging walk distance of 60 miles in 3 days and $1,900 in fundraising. I was immediately convinced I needed to accept this challenge. I had never walked this far and certainly never tried to raise this much money. I signed up and participated in this event with my sister and 2 other friends in May 2002. I walked each an every mile and raised over $1,900. After this event, my grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her cancer was discovered early and treatment was effective. She has been cancer free for years. It's long overdue that I participate again. So here goes another 60 miles and $2,300 for the cause. I do it in memory of Barbara and in honor of my friend and grandmother. Please perform your breast self examinations, get your annual mammogram when the time comes and support the cause in any way you can. Because you just never know when breast cancer will impact you, family or friends.