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Boobs, melons, ta-ta's, bazooms,
hooters, floppers, or whatever term of endearment you call them, every man, woman
and child on this earth are born with a pair of breasts. For women the Mammary
Islands provide a non-stop source of nutrition for their newborns, while
for the rest of us they provide a nice place to prop a book, drop food or
accessorize. For all the good these wondrous appendages do for
us, they also carry the potential for cancer.
I decided that this year
(2002) I would honor one of the most influential women in my life,
Delight Leonard, by walking in the Avon 3-Day Seattle event (60 miles in three
days) to raise money for breast cancer research. My friend Delight was
diagnosed with breast cancer long before Taxol and other drugs specific to
breast cancer were on the market. It is a tribute to her tenacity and
strength of character that she soldiered on and conquered the disease. I
realized earlier this year how empty my life would have been if Delight
had not survived her cancer. I literally would never have met her since we
chummed up after the fact.
At
the end stage of my forties and with gravity taking its toll on my sedentary form, I knew if I was
going to march in the parade I had best get going now. I know that my supply of Hershey Kisses™
will have to shelved until after the event. The organizers seem determined
that participants eat balanced meals and drink a phenomenal amount of
liquids. I realize that this will impact the Hershey Company's profits but
we all have to make sacrifices.
It should not shock
you that I have never had breast cancer, although I have had the
interesting odd lump on occasion. Most participants in these events are
not survivors, but many have had their lives touched by someone with
breast cancer. Every day 500 women are diagnosed with breast cancer. One
in eight women will get breast cancer in their lifetime. Your chances of
knowing a woman with breast cancer are almost 100%.
As you read this 1 million
women in America have undiagnosed breast cancer. This year 40,000 will die
from this disease. If you could take three days and raise money for such
an insidious disease, wouldn't you? Well, I can and I am.
I should tell you that this
is not a noble gesture on my part. I am not philanthropic by
nature although I like to think I have a giving nature. I make no bones
about simply wanting to finish the walk - I have no desire to be at the
front of the pack. If I can do this without falling down, moaning or
getting lost, it will be a winning event in my mind.
Each participant must raise
a minimum of $1,900.00 in pledges which is rather breathtaking at first
glance. But fundraising is really just asking people for money and once
you get a few queries under your belt and have some initial success you
can get almost giddy - as your pledge total rises you can get downright
euphoric. Pretty soon you are pinning your donor form on church bulletin
boards and approaching total strangers. If nothing else you learn
a new skill in life.
Pallotta TeamWorks organizes and
runs the event and does it quite well. Each walker receives a three-ring
notebook that runs you through fundraising, training, rules of the road
and other needed information. Although it would seem hard to believe with
an event such as this, people can be removed (I believe Pallotta used the
rather unsavory term of "expulsion") for using alcohol, non-prescription
drugs, rude behavior and whining among other things.
This
website is an on-going report of my ascent into the world of the Avon
3-Day Walk from Enumclaw to Seattle, Washington - a hop of 60 miles - from
August 9-11th, 2002. This site was named for two reasons (1) my company
name is Resting Rabbit Productions,
so bunnies were a natural segue way and (2) the title alone will get
people to check out the site and perhaps donate.
I simply have no pride in this venture and am willing to lower myself to
almost any depths to make folks part with a few dollars. Thanks! Nancy
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