A Moment to Remember Them - WHY I WALK!!

Today's blog is somewhat serious, as I want to take a moment and explore how breast cancer and other forms of cancer has touched my life and those of my friends, family and coworkers.

I think you can just about stop and ask anyone on the street how has your life been touched by cancer and they would have a story.

My story goes like this. The first time I ever heard of anyone remotely connected to me having cancer was when my close friend in college told me how she had lost her best friend to leukemia. Next was when my cousin Linda talked about a cousin of ours on the Hernandez family side having breast cancer. Thereafter, I learned my daughter's grandmother Deanie Broughton, on her father's side, had had a breast removed and won her battle with breast cancer.

Still cancer seemed very removed from from my life. Then about two years ago it seemed that cancer of all sorts was hitting awfully close to home.

It began a couple years ago when a close co-worker of mine shared with me that her mother was battling breast cancer. Then in the same week it seems, another of my close work friends shared that she was nursing her boyfriend's mother, Sue (a breast cancer survivor) as she passed of stomach cancer. During the same time this friend shared with me that her best friend's mother had a few years before also had breast cancer and later died of lung cancer. Today this same friend has two aunts with breast cancer and an uncle with prostate cancer.

And of course it was this Spring that we learned of my mother-in-law Joan's breast cancer.

Additionally when I started funding for this walk, I also learned my boss's mother died of the disease and several of my mother's cousins also battled it. And that my step son's grandma on his mom's side, Melva, also survived breast cancer. Melva is Jamie's mom. Jamie is my co-captain team mate. And the stories seem to keep coming in.

As if all this were not enough to take in, there were other forms of cancer that struck both at work and at home. Another co-worker's father-in-law passed quickly of stomach cancer, and my father-in-law Ken was diagnosed with Melanoma. Sadly just two years prior to Ken's diagnosis, he lost two brothers, one to lung cancer and one to brain cancer.

Suddenly cancer seemed to have surrounded me. I am adopted and have no idea what diseases run in my blood - therefore I am on the lookout for any little sign of any big genetically passed down disease, for both my sake and that of my daughter's.

It got the point I almost became paranoid for those around me and myself. In one month I think I had my pap smear, my mammogram, saw my dermatologist, had a lung x-ray and had Jim get his prostate checked and had him see the dermatologist. Oh I also quit smoking.

My paranoia got so bad that while we were buying a car I actually interrupted the salesman and asked him if he had had the spot on his nose checked by a doctor; I did the same to our next door neighbor. I also have a bottle of sunscreen in my gym bag, in each car, one with make up and one at my desk at work. I only buy organic now as well!

It was pretty obvious, I had A LOT of untapped ENERGY and ANXIETY about cancer and I needed a POSITIVE LESS PARANOID outlet - so I joined the Komen 3-Day!

Now, wow what a difference a cause makes! I am still the queen of SPF 90, I still shove raw green veggies at those I love, I still do self exams in the shower, but now it comes from a much more empowered place. I am no longer running from the threat of cancer , I am walking to eradicate it - that makes a world of difference!
by Patricia McDonald on Tue, Jul 14, 2009 @ 1:02 PM CT