October 2007, I went to the closing ceremonies for the Susan G. Komen 3-day in Atlanta. My best friend of 38 years, Debra was walking in it and I wanted to show my support to her. I had felt this lump in my breast for a while and I told her about it before the walk. I was 40 years old and breast feeding my baby when I found the lump. I have no family history of breast cancer. I really didn’t think I was at risk. I ignored it until I weaned my baby and realized the it wasn’t going away. It seemed like I could feel it growing. I made an appointment the following week to get it checked. After an ultrasound, mammogram,breast MRI and punch biopsy, I was diagnosed with stage 2- IDC.. I was told that I had invasive breast cancer that had spread to my lymph nodes and it was very aggressive. My tumor was estrogen and progesterone positive which basically means my hormones were feeding it and making it more aggressive. As you can imagine, we were devastated. My first thought was “who will raise my children?” After going through months of chemotherapy, I decided to have a bi-lateral mastectomy and reconstruction. I woke up from surgery with such peace of mind knowing that I had done everything I could to prevent reoccurrence.While recovering from surgery, I saw a commercial on TV for the Susan G. Komen 3-day. I thought back to 1999 when I walked with 5 other friends in the first Avon 3-day in Atlanta. I walked then because a friend asked me to and I didn't have anything better to do. It was a great experience but I thought it was a once in a life time thing. After watching this commercial, I decided to start a team and register for the Susan G. Komen 3-day Atlanta walk. It was so exciting to me to see my team build into 11 members. Then, my surgeon told me that I could not do the walk that year. I was really upset but after a few days, I decided that I was going to start training and be with my team even if I only walked 1 mile. We started having training walks and I walked 3 miles on the first walk with my team. The next week we walked 5 miles then 8 then 10. Before I knew it I walked 15 miles with no problems. Training for the 3-day, raising money for this cause and watching my team grow gave me such strength. I began to feel like I was getting my health back and my life back. I felt like I was doing ‘something” instead of feeling helpless. So, October 2008, my husband and I walked 60 miles with my team “Kat’s Courage”. We talked, laughed, sang songs, hugged, cried, hobbled along. We were wet and cold and everything ached. The last few miles on Sunday as we were walking through ATL and people were cheering for us all along the way, made it all worth it. We knew we were a part of something big and bold. I felt like a rock star walking into the closing ceremonies with everyone cheering for us. Last year(2009) we took a break from the 3-day and focused on some other cancer charities. We decided to take our “Double Bubble Breast Cancer Bus” to the finish line to cheer on walkers and watch the closing ceremonies at the ATL 3-day. I got so caught up in the 3-day spirit that I knew I wanted to be a part of it again. I believe that a big reason that I am alive today is because of all of the advancements in breast cancer treatment that are directly related to money raised for SGK for the Cure. The main reason I walk is for my children! I pray that they don’t have to grow up without their mom like so many others have. I pray that when they do grow up, they won’t have to worry about getting breast cancer their self because there will be a cure!
gone fishin'
caught some seaweed
