Thursday, January 20, 2011

A Reason To Walk

I am just finishing the book Promise Me by Nancy Brinker, founder of the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. If you get a chance, I highly recommend it.

The reason I bring that up to you now is to introduce you to Bridget Mooney Spence. I read her story (or a portion of it) in the book mentioned above and it reminded me why 3 days and 60 miles isn't too long of a journey. Especially in relation to a life.

You can read and follow Bridget's story on her blog, My Big Girl Pants.

I will share with you a portion of her bio:

I was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer five years ago. I was 21 years old with no family history of the disease. I am just a little girl trying to be a brave big girl on this scary journey. As treatments improve, more and more women and men are living very full lives while still fighting cancer. I hope I can give other metastatic cancer patients a voice!

I am inspired by Bridget. She lives each day of her life not knowing when the cancer will return. Or where it will return.

I will admit to you right now that I am not diligent about doing breast self-exams monthly. I am guilty of thinking, "Breast cancer happens to old ladies. I have no family history of the disease." Yet, there are plenty of stories out there of young women, just like me, who are diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer. As a matter of fact, science shows that the cancer is typically more aggressive in younger patients. I can't promise you that I'll change my ways, but I can tell you that the minute I read Bridget's story, I got a little more familiar with my own breasts.

It is the work of the Susan G Komen for the Cure Foundation that has opened the dialog of breast cancer to the world. When Susan Komen was diagnosed with breast cancer, it was a taboo subject. Today, we can talk about it, blog about it, and change it.

This is one of the reasons that I will be in San Diego in November.

I would appreciate any support you can give me in this journey.

Rachel

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