This is going to be my 8th time participating in the Race for the Cure. I first got involved back in 2001 when we ran at Woodward Park. I was so thrilled to be able to run a race when I had just finished chemotherapy the year before. Then the next year they moved the race to Fresno State, I think it was because it had grown so much. The year that I first got involved I thought it was nice that they called all of us survivors onto the stage and they had a song playing and we all held hands. There was such a bond, we had all experienced those ugly words "you have cancer" and lived to be here on stage as a survivor. I continued to run the race every year after that because it helped my healing to be involved in something with some sort of purpose. I am not sure when I started wanting to put together a team. The awareness has grown thanks to events like Komen. If you go out on Saturday and see the survivor ceremony you will see we don't all fit on the stage at the same time, there is a long line of us. I believe it is because we are finding the cancer earlier and we are surviving! We have so much more research that needs to be done. I believe that prevention is going to be the cure. We are going to discover where it comes from and be able to prevent it rather than having to treat with poisons.
This year when I found out that I was having surgery about a month before the race I thought I would just skip it this year. Then people were asking if I was forming a team this year and not wanting to let anyone down I said yes. Honestly, I still was thinking that I was not going to participate. Then I was looking at pictures one day of my daughter, Sommer and my nieces Heather, Sierra, Hanna and it hit me I have to do something! I don't want them to have to suffer like I have or like my mother, Joan has. I must step up and take responsibility and do my part in helping find the cure. You see I discovered that I have the breast cancer gene. Why was it me? why was I the one that they discovered it in? It has probably been passed on for generations. There has to be some responsibility for me in that. Statistics say that only 5-10% of cancers are inherited. So because they say it is such a small amount it seems the focus of breast cancer awareness is on the ones that are not inherited. I believe that we are going to discover it is much higher than 5-10%. The reason why I believe this is because most of us don't know our family histories and when we are diagnosed one of the first questions that they ask is if you have a family history. I was asked that and I said no. Because I did not know that I did until I had to look back to find out if there was a strong family history. I was so surprised that we had cancer on both sides of the family. How come I never knew this? How come no one ever talked about cancer? I don't want my life to be about cancer but I want to leave those family members that come after me my story that is why I am participating in events like the Komen Race for the Cure that is why I am sharing my very personal experiences with the world. I knew in being open about my experiences there would be emotional pain. I can tell you one thing that I have a very hard time with is the people that want to cry and tell me how unfair things are the ones that I am sure they don't do it on purpose (at least I hope not) bring you down. I absolutely love those of you that encourage me every time I see you. Those of you that are showing your support by helping raise breast cancer awareness. Please don't pity me. I am no different than I was before you knew that I survived cancer, before you knew that cancer has taken parts of my body that important to a woman. I am looking forward to when my daughter and my nieces can say "remember when there was cancer it was such a ugly disease . I am so glad it has been cured". Please join me in praying for the cure! You can still register for the Race on Saturday at Fresno State or you can just make a donation.
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