Flex to End Breast Cancer- Saturday, October 14th from 9-12
Why I am Making Strides
Two years ago, I was about to embark on the biggest endeavor of my life- opening my own business- when I received a phone call from my mom. We speak multiple times a day, so this in itself was not strange, but the tone of her voice was strained and she asked if I was home and if my husband was nearby. I remember every word of that call. I remember crumbling to the floor when she told me that she had been diagnosed with an aggressive breast cancer and clinging to the phone when she called me by our secret nickname and promised to fight like hell. You don’t go back from something like that- it never goes away. As we hung up and my husband held me together on the kitchen floor, I shook from the realization that my mother, my best friend, my role model, my support system, was in the fight of her life and there were no guarantees.
She did fight like hell. She embodied strength, resilience, and sheer determination and I am so lucky to be able to type that she still does. My mom received her last chemotherapy treatment in June and is currently, wonderfully, cancer free. It was a horrid fight and the sacrifices she had to make are unbelievable, but she is here today and I will be forever thankful for the donations that were given before that phone call -before it was my mom.
Ten years ago, my mom’s strain of breast cancer was fatal, but thanks to fundraising efforts like this one, she and thousands like her have a chance. People say that you don’t care until it comes knocking at your door, and perhaps that is true. But I hope that we can spare other women- daughters and mothers- from the pain that breast cancer causes, both the physical and the emotional. Maybe when I have to make that phone call, which I almost undoubtedly will thanks to bad genes and a predisposing genetic mutation, it will be less devastating.
I know I will make a difference in the fight to end breast cancer. I know that by raising funds and walking in the American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event, I can help save lives from breast cancer.
I believe that one day breast cancer will never steal another year from anyone’s life. Making Strides is not only my opportunity to join my community to fight back against breast cancer, but it is also a way to inspire hope by raising funds and awareness to help those facing the disease. That’s why I’m walking.
Every day, the American Cancer Society helps people take steps to reduce their risk of breast cancer or find it early when it is easiest to treat. They provide free information and services when and where people need it throughout their journey to get well. They are investing in groundbreaking research to find, prevent, treat, and cure breast cancer, and are working to ensure access to mammograms for women who need them.
I have signed up to walk and fundraise with Making Strides Against Breast Cancer and I will be volunteering my time and my studio to host our second annual Flex to End Breast Cancer event on October 14th. We will be providing donation based classes, a wonderful silent auction and (of course) snacks and drinks, plus we’ll be raffling off three free months and other great prizes!
Together, we can make strides to end breast cancer. We’ll see you in class.
