Please support me as I commit to an incredible challenge. 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.

And for those of you who want a little more history...

I have been involved in the fight against cancer for 18 years now and altogether, with the help of people like you, I have raised over $625,000 for the fight against cancer.  

It all started in 2005 when I was an associate brand manager on the MOTRIN® IB Brand, which was a national sponsor of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day. They asked me to speak at one of their events, and I didn’t want to do so unless I was out there raising money and walking alongside the people to whom I’d be speaking.  And once I started fundraising, I learned just how many people have been impacted by breast cancer – my friend’s mom, another friend’s aunt, my colleague, and more – and it just became important to me that I continue to do my part.  Since that time, I lost my close friend Mary to breast cancer (2009), Vicki lost her sister and Libby lost her mom. And I met Maryanne - an amazing friend and breast cancer survivor.  It’s a lot!  So, each year since 2005 I've walked and raised money.  In fact, I've now participated in sixteen 60-mile Susan G. Komen 3-Day events, and 1 virtual 3-Day event, raising over $275,000 for the fight against breast cancer, by asking people like you to make a small donation to support me – it’s amazing how it adds up. There has been so much progress already made in the fight, but still over 40,000 people die each year from breast cancer.  So, I'm committed to continuing those efforts.

But then, on August 8, 2008, my father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He died exactly 4 months later on December 8, 2008. There are no words to really describe the impact this has had on our family. The year my dad was diagnosed, I walked in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day event wearing a t-shirt that read “4th year walking for boobs everywhere, 1st year walking for one particular pancreas.” In 2011, I was introduced to a great organization, Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN). I toured the lab of one of the grantees and learned directly from him how he is making progress in that very lab towards finding better ways to fight the disease. I now raise money for PanCAN as well by participating in their Purple Stride 5k events, and even running a marathon one year on their Team Hope. To date I’ve raised over $200,000 for PanCAN. My twin sister has raised another $80,000. It brought tears of joy to my eyes to see the new American Cancer Society statistics that show 5-year survival rates for pancreatic cancer have improved from 6% in 2011 to 10% today!  While not where we want to be, there's been so much progress, and somehow I feel I've played a small role!  So, yes, I'm committed to continuing those efforts...

But that's not it.  Unfortunately, each year there are more reasons to want to kick cancer's a$$. My best friends' mom to whom I was close lost a 4-week battle with plasma cell leukemia in 2017, I lost my uncle to a malignant brain tumor in 2018, and an 18-year-old close family friend lost her 8-year battle with Ewing's Sarcoma in Dec 2019.  On an unrelated note, in 2017, I sat on the sideline cheering my sister on during her 3rd Boston Marathon thinking how fun it would be able to run, but knowing I'm too slow to qualify. So, how could I combine this selfish desire to run the Boston Marathon, with my continued and growing fury at this thing called Cancer? Well, I went out and secured myself a fundraising spot with Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Dana Farber funds all sorts of cancer research, including leukemia, Ewings, lung, breast, and pancreatic cancer.  That's another organization I can get behind – a perfect match for me to combine my passion for running with my passion for raising funds and awareness to help fight cancer!  So, that's what I did.  While I've taken a break from marathon running for now, from 2018-2020 I raised another $45,000 for Dana Farber, all with help from people like you!

If you've made it this far, I appreciate you!  Thank you for considering supporting (or renewing your support of) my efforts!!!  Achieving $500,000 lifetime dollars raised for the fight against cancer was an amazing milestone!  But, achieving that goal just made me move the goal post.  This war is not won... Next up, eventually, will be $1MM raised!  More importantly, there’s the ultimately goal and finish line: a world without cancer.  Will you join me in this fight?