I have been so blessed with all that the 3-Day has given to me. My first year I was asked to be a flag bearer and I was so honored. I was able to carry the "My Mother" flag during opening and closing ceremonies. This year, I was selected to be a 3-Day Ambassador. Some of you may know that there are quite a few ambassadors per city. Still, what an honor. There are thousands of people that do this walk every year.
I believe with every fiber of my being that some day we will find a cure. Currently, there are many different drug trials. However, cancer is different for everyone and reacts differently to some of the meds. Most of the advances made in breast cancer are funded by grants from Susan G. Komen.
I'm hoping that those of you who do read this, are doing what you can for your health and your loved ones, early detection is KEY!! They don't recommend mammograms for women till the age of 40, possibly earlier if you have a family history. So please do your monthly self breast exams!!
I have read and heard stories of women getting diagnosed with breast cancer, at a very young age. The youngest I personally heard of was 20 years old. When she noticed something wasn't right and went to her Dr. it was Stage 4. Meaning it had spread through out her body, she is currently living with cancer in her body! I recently watched a news report about a 4 year old being a breast cancer survivor. I can't imagine how hard it had to be for her mom to make such decisions for her then 2 year old daughter.. That little girl is now cancer free, however she had to have a mastectomy and will have to do reconstructive surgery later in life.
I am hoping that this "little"blog of mine will have the ability to make an impact in someone's life. I believe that, I have the ability to make a change. By doing that I am choosing to raise awareness and money to fund more research. In hopes of finding a cure.
Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure has given me my voice. I always knew I was meant to do something great in my lifetime. My hope is that it leads to saving lives and giving something to the future of our children and grandchildren.
Some of you may know that I come from a some what small town in Hawaii. I spent my formative years in Waianae, Hi. Life was great for the most part. School was always a little rough for me, although if you spoke to me you my not notice it. I wasn't really the kind of girl that just fit in. I was teased a lot, I know a huge surprise for those of you who know me. But I didn't let that define who I was or wanted to be. I joined the army right out of high school, I started to discover myself.
I've taken many different paths in my 30 years of life and I've taken all the ups and downs to "build" a better me. I could have taken all the name calling and relentless teasing in school and let it break me down. However, I some how managed to use it as "constructive" critisim. So whenever life hands me lemons, I squeeze the crap out of them till I get something good out of it!
I know your wondering where is this going??? Almost 2 years ago, my mom was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer. She caught it early and we were very lucky. there is no family history on my mom's side, she was diagnosed at 48 years old. Most of my family still lives in hawaii, so I decided that I would do "One of those, breast cancer walks"! Well, I decided to do the SGK 3-Day for the Cure and I was able to put a positive spin on this situation. I had no say in weither or not, my mom would have cancer or anyone else for that matter. Instead, I would flood people with knowledge on breast cancer and raise as much awareness as I could.
Last year, I raised $2,974 when I walked in Boston. This year, I'm hoping to raise a minimum of $3,000.
So, I leave you with this final thought. When you picture your future or your children's future, do you picture a world without cancer? I know I do, that's why I'm doing what I do! What will you do to give that hope to your children??
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