Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Wanna race?

For the past two years, I've had the privilege of participating with two of my good friends,

Jayne and Diane,

in the Komen Race for the Cure. Both years have been really great experiences and the 2008 race is coming up on Saturday, May 3 in Winston-Salem. In the interest of Caroline's safety, I will be walking this year.... the whole way.... but hopefully doing a little power walking along the way.

Care to join us?

My friend, Jayne, is a team leader and if you sign up on her page, she'll pick up your race info and T-shirt for you and we'll be set to speed walk for three miles on race day. If you can't participate in the race, but would like to contribute to this wonderful cause, there is a link on the right hand side of that page to do so. If you're not a local friend, this page will show you all of the races across the country if you're interested in participating in your own city/state.

Here is an excerpt from the e-mail Jayne sent out:

"Join the fight by registering as part of our team or by supporting our efforts with a pledge contribution. The money raised through the Race will fund vital education, screening and treatment programs for underserved women in our own community and support the national search for a cure.

"I was diagnosed with Stage 1 invasive lobular breast cancer on March 9, 2006. My life was turned upside down. That was exactly two years ago today. As far as I know, I am cancer-free. I consider myself lucky, and I have plenty of hope for a normal lifespan. But there is no cure for breast cancer. It can return decades after treatment.

"Too many young women are dying from this disease. Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women ages 15 to 54. For a variety of reasons, younger women have higher death rates than older women. More than 250,000 ages 40 and under in the U.S. are living with breast cancer. Ladies, we need a cure!!! Let’s help raise some money for that cure.

"I’d love to have you on my team this year. The name of my team is 'Young Survivors and Friends.' There are several advantages to registering as part of a team: easy advance registration, a discounted entry rate, and I deliver your race packet and T-shirt to you.

"The deadline to register online as part of a team is April 15."

FYI, men are welcome to participate in this race as well. (and many do!) So, spread the word and let's get some exercise for a good cause!

8 comments:

Sandy said...

What a great cause - -wish I could come walk on your team!!

curly girl said...

That is really amazing and awesome, Andrea!

You know what else is amazing and awesome?! I was just reading on my friend, Mindy Colasurdo's blog, and lo and behold, her SIL has just written a book by the same title as Andrew's sister! In fact, she IS Andrew's sister! Isn't that crazy?!

We met Mindy and Peter in our ward in Seattle (Shoreline/Lake Forest Park, to be exact) four years ago! Isn't that crazy?!

I was planning on reading the book, but now I really have to, if two women I like so much both recommend it so highly!

andrea said...

Kristin--What a small world!

Jayne said...

Andrea, thanks for promoting the race.

I know that you have a lot of young Moms who read your blog so I'll take the opportunity to do a PSA that is meant for them:

If you ever have a lump in your breast, don't let your doctor cavalierly dismiss it with the comment "You are too young for breast cancer." This is one of the reasons that younger women don't fare as well; they often have a delayed diagnosis.

Only about 10% of breast cancers are genetic. Don't be lulled into a false sense of security if you lack a family history of the disease.

Younger women often have very dense breast tissue, thus making tumors harder to find on mammograms. All the more reason to do your self-exams.

Go Team!!

curly girl said...

Question for Jayne:
If I have breast pain w/no logical reason (i.e. a pulled muscle, cyclical) but I can't feel any lump, should I be concerned?

Jayne said...

curly girl,

Obviously I can't offer medical advice, but maybe you want to check out this website:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/breast-pain/DS00760

It is the mayo clinic's page on breast pain. I don't think that Blogger makes clickable links, so you'll have to copy and paste it into your browser.

Personally, I think that anything that concerns me about my body is worthy of reasonable investigation.

Anonymous said...

I really enjoy reading about your friends and the wonderful support you are to them and they are to you, Andrea. Hope your walk/run/race for the cure is great!
Love,
Mom Sweat

Ang said...

What a great cause. And I'm proud of you for taking it on, preggers as you are.