As you may know, I have participated in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure for Breast Cancer (the 3-Day) event five times, and this year will be my sixth and seventh events. Yes, I'm doing two in 2022! However, this year, participating in the 3-Day is now a personal vendetta against breast cancer.

Very recently, 7/5/2022 to be exact, my sister, Julie, was diagnosed with Stage 1 of an invasive form of breast cancer. While it was caught very early, and the type she has is highly curable, she will still have to undergo surgery and radiation treatment. Her surgery was successful with clean margins and nothing found in her lymph nodes. She starts radiation treatments on September 16th, the same day I am walking the first day of the Chicago 3-Day. After radiation is over, she'll start chemo treatments. 

Julie is my best-friend, my Irish twin, someone who has been with me nearly my whole life, and I love beyond words. While Julie is in a good state of mind at the moment,  I can't take away all the uncertainty, and neither can the doctors. I'll be there for her during her treatments, taking turns with her husband, and making sure she isn't alone. And I'm offering my help in other ways too, with advice and resources I've become acquainted with over the years of my participation in these events. And all the people who I've walked alongside over the years are with her too. 

However, Julie will have to live (for the rest of her life) with the fear of side effects from her treatment, fears that it won't be cured, fear that it might come back, or that she might develop a different form of breast cancer or another form of cancer altogether. All are potential outcomes whenever breast cancer is involved. And I unfortunately know way too many people that have had one or more of these outcomes occur. And I also have personally known too many people that have passed away because they got breast cancer. I can't bear that my own sister could be one of them. 

The very first time I participated, I took on this effort as a way to get myself moving more. Little did I know that I was drinking the pink Kool-Aid (a little joke amongst the breast cancer warriors). During this event, each participant raises funds for Komen, and then participates in a three-day walk (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday), walking 20+ miles a day for a total of 60 miles over the course of the three days. The team that I participate in, Angels for the Cure, has raised well over a million dollars since its inception. 

While each walk is unique in its own way as to the people you meet and the places you see, each walk is also an exercise in gratitude. Gratitude that we can walk, that we are supporters and/or survivors, that everyone participating knows people that have died of breast cancer, and that we can help make a difference in someone's life during some of the most horrible days of their lives. My reason for walking soon evolved into a much deeper commitment. 

On the last day of each event, everyone gathers together (all the participants, support people, crew, and staff), listening to testimonials to the difference that we made, thinking about how grateful we are for the experiences we had, and then we pledge (everyone takes one shoe off and holds it high in the air) that we will remember those that we've lost, will help those still fighting, and that we will continue our path to end breast cancer. Nothing I've ever experienced had the emotional and lasting impact as that pledge, each and every time I've made it. Sore feet and blisters seem like a small price to pay to help so many many people, and it is nothing compared to someone's discomfort and pain when being treated for breast cancer. 

 The commitment I feel towards this cause has weirdly prepared me to play a supporting role in her recovery. So again, I feel extremely grateful to my pink tribe for all of the lessons learned and ongoing support. But, I am beyond grateful to all the people that have donated in the past. Thank you for drinking the Pink Kool-Aid with me! You have absolutely made a difference in this world. 

That being said, I beg you to please, please, please support me as I commit to this incredible challenge once again. The Susan G. Komen 3-Day is a 60-mile walk over the course of three days. It will be hard, but it’s not as hard as breast cancer. It’s not as hard as chemo. It’s not as hard as getting bad news at your latest scan. It’s not as hard as saying goodbye. And that’s why I know I have to do this. That’s why I commit. That’s why I’m walking and why I’m raising money – To End Breast Cancer Forever.