Breast Cancer Walk Story

Hello all,

I just felt like I needed to write about my day yesterday. My office participates in the American Cancer Society breast cancer walk every year. We have two in-office bake sales and everyone donates money. My company matches all the money that the employees donate. There is usually a “walking” team of 5-6 of the gals in the office. It’s a 3.2 mile (5k?) walk and every year they ask if I want to do it.

Well, I have a very difficult time walking that far so I always say no. This year, the friend who asked if I wanted to do the walk told me that another friend was just volunteering and not walking. And I realized that I COULD do that! They had many choices of places to work…one friend was a greeter (which is effectively a cheerleader), another worked registration, but I chose to help in the Survivor’s Tent.

I was so worried. I was afraid it would be a day filled with tears. But I only found it difficult when someone would stop and start talking to us about their mom, wife, sister, grandmother, great-grandmother…and they were overall stories of surviving, tho some of these people had already died.

I helped paint pink ribbons on everyone’s cheeks so we got to meet all the survivors as they passed thru the tent. These women were so strong, most were so funny and they had us all laughing. Some were “cured”, some 2 month survivors, some 18 year survivors. We even got the men to let us paint pink ribbons on their scruffy faces. It was so inspiring.

I had a partner who helped me paint faces. She is closing in on almost two years of survival from a very rare form of breast cancer. We talked some about our stories and I told her that many of us had admitted to wishing we had breast cancer instead of CC. She understood exactly what I was saying since there is very little research into her specific form of breast cancer.

I don’t know exactly why I wanted to tell this story. Cancer survivors come in all forms and none of them have it “easy”. Research is not perfect, there are so many forms of each disease that there will always be some that miss out. But it still doesn’t make the lack of research into CC make me happy. I want them to come up with “the answers”…how to prevent CC and how to cure it. And I think we need to keep fighting to get recognized. I wish I was able to do more…walk in a walk, meet all my friends on CC.org. I would love to meet with everyone in Chicago, but I just don’t think I can get up there. And I feel bad about that…you will be so close.

I guess I just wanted to tell you all to keep fighting the fight. We will keep doing everything we can to make CC a much more researched cancer. And I will do whatever I am able to do in that fight.

Hugs,
Sue