It’s a quiet Sunday evening here in Richmond. Dinner is over, and it’s time to start getting ready for the work week ahead. Before I begin the preparations, I wanted to sit down a write a quick note to all of you, my family and friends who have stood beside me and supported me on my 3Day Journey.

Way back in 2006, I reached out to you all, asking for your support in my efforts to raise money for Breast Cancer research, outreach and education. With all our hard work, Komen has contributed to a 44% decline in the breast cancer mortality rate in the U.S. since 1989 due to the improvements in early detection and effective treatments, due largely to advances in treatment and earlier detection through screening. The five-year survival rate for early detected breast cancer, Stage 1, is now at 98%.

Although I am no longer walking the 3Day, and all its 60 miles, I am serving on our San Diego 3Day Camp Services Crew this coming November, to provide support for the participants who are walking. I will be working four days, instead of walking three. I will be helping to set up Camp, sort piles of camp mail, answer questions and gather information. I will be folding towels for the showers, directing traffic for staff vehicles and doing whatever the team needs me to do. My day will start at 5:30 each morning and end when everything is closing up for the night, sometime around 10:00 in the evening.

Please support me, for my 21st year, as I commit to an incredible challenge. As you know, The Susan G. Komen 3-Day is a 60-mile walk over the course of three days. It is 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'm walking and why I'm raising money to end breast cancer forever. I’ve set my fundraising personal goal at $1000 this year. With your help, I know we can make it!

This year it became personal. It started with my regular mammogram, which came back with abnormal images. This was quickly followed by an ultrasound, and then another ultrasound and biopsy. Those pesky calcifications that formed as a “constellation” several years ago were now showing as “clusters”. Thanks to Susan G Komen research and advances in detection technology and research, my calcifications were found early and determined to be non-malignant.... this time. I'm back on a 6-month monitoring schedule for a while. I'll work closely with my Breast Care Team and together we will catch any developments before they become a problem.

Thank you for staying by my side all these years! Your love and support get me through this!!

In light and Love,

Betsy