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Let’s Take Breast Cancer Down & Out!

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It’s October, which means Fall is here! But it also means that it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

I’m a breast cancer survivor (6 years cancer-free this month). When my friend & jewelry designer, Carolyn Pollack, found out I had battled breast cancer, she asked me to do the Susan G. Komen 3-day walk with her. She had already walked 420 miles (that’s 7 walks) for folks like me. I promised would, one day (that was 4 years ago). I was working at the kitchen table in early February, listening to 92.5 WXTU (my fav country station), when I heard the ad for the 3-day. I immediately sent a text to Carolyn to see if she was “in”. She said “yes”. So, this year, I made good on my promise. Here is part two of my 3 days/60 Miles…

On the morning of the walk event, I was really nervous & doubts filled my head. Was I prepared? Would Isabella be okay without me? Would we be safe? Would I finish? Would Carolyn be ready to find a new teammate 10 miles in?

Anyway, the opening ceremony began at 6:30am on Friday at the Willow Grove Mall. It was bursting with energy, excitement, and a whole bunch of people decked out in pink – pink boas, pink tutu’s, pink bras, pink wigs, pink socks, pink eyelashes & more! What a hoot!

There is so much I’d like to share about the walk itself, like the sites, the 10 mile trudge in the pouring rain, the amazing people who came out to cheer us.

I could fill up a million pages; but, I’m guessing that would be a little excessive. So, I’ll pare it down to two stories. The first is about the closing ceremony & the second is about Amanda.

The closing ceremony was at the Navy Yard. Friends and families came to be a part of the celebration. (Kristen, Isabella, Chris - Kristen’s boyfriend & Janice Marie came down to welcome me & Carolyn home!) Before the ceremony began, the participants were asked to line-up in this order: volunteer crew members, walkers & then walkers who were survivors (we were given pink shirts). As a walker, Carolyn walked in with the second group, & as a survivor, I walked in with the last group. It was the strangest sensation to have Carolyn pulled from my side after all those miles. It didn’t feel good at all. Because this wasn’t her first walk, she knew I had to walk in with the survivors. As we (the survivors) made our way into the celebration, on the sidelines, was the crew. Not standing, but kneeling. Clapping for us. Cheering. Sending us hope. Healing. Blessings. I was immediately humbled and felt so undeserving. My tears could not be contained.

These were the volunteers who helped us cross streets, who fed us, fixed our blisters, gave us water & made us laugh! (I should have been on the sidelines, not them!)

And then…I saw the sneakers. These people who walked 60 miles on my (our) behalf, raised their sneakers in honor me & all the survivors. My heart was so full of gratitude & the tears kept coming.

I am so grateful to each and every one of you! But it’s to Carolyn Pollack…my dear, sweet, beautiful, amazing friend…I am most grateful for as I write. I wouldn’t have done it without you. You made every step fun. You make this world (especially mine) a better place!

Now to Amanda. There was a poster that came with the 3-Day registration packet that had a picture of two women, fists in the air with the slogan “I found my inspiration at mile 37.” I found mine at 52. Carolyn & I found ourselves behind this t-shirt on the 3^rd Day, 8 miles to go.

When I read it, I was overwhelmed. I thought about Isabella; I thought about her daughter; and, I needed to know her story. So, I asked. She was diagnosed at 30 with a very aggressive form of breast cancer. She had chemo & a double mastectomy followed by radiation. She is 31, closing in on one year cancer-free and awaiting reconstruction. I was grateful to walk into the closing ceremony, hand-in-hand with Amanda, the Panda, my inspiration!

The Susan G. Komen Philadelphia 3-day was an amazing event that raised over $3 million for the fight against breast cancer. But SGK isn’t the only way to fight this disease. FFANY Shoes on Sale broadcast is on Thursday, 10/16!

Let’s take breast cancer down & out!