Race for the Cure

Some of you may already know about my past. In 1998 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I was Stage III and it had metastasized to my lymph nodes. For those who don't understand the stages, there are only four stages to breast cancer. I was 28 and had a 20 month old little girl at the time. I feared for my life but more importantly, I feared for hers. At the time I was diagnosed, ten members of my family, on my father's side, had already been diagnosed. Only one had survived. Within months of my diagnosis, she was in another battle with cancer and two of my cousins were diagnosed. My aunt lost her battle but my cousins survived. We know it is hereditary, I mean how much of a coincidence is it that fourteen of us from my grandmother to my generation have been diagnosed with it? But they don't know which gene. It has not been identified. And it doesn't just strike certain people in my family. My grandmother was in her 80's when she was diagnosed, my cousin Irma was in her early 40's, I was in my 20's and my cousin Leslie was a teenager. Yes, breast cancer is vicious.

That is why I have decided to join the Race for the Cure. You guys know me, I wasn't a runner until a few months ago so this is the first time I was able to do this. I am excited about it. I have created a team Boob Troup. I know I have had a late start but this is important to me and if you are a woman, it should be important to you. My biggest fear is for my daughter. I hope and pray that if she should share this gene with me, that her detection of the disease is early and her prognosis is better than mine was at the time I was diagnosed. If any of you have daughters, or even sons, I know you will want them to have a fighting chance against this disease. The more we can do to support research, the better hope we have in our children and our children's children to beat the disease.

Please join me at my Race for the Cure home page and make a donation. No amount is too small. As a matter of fact, it is the small amounts that matter the most.