Home From the Michigan Event!

The Michigan Breast Cancer 3-Day has come and gone. Months of meetings and planning are almost over (the captains will actually meet once more to "debrief") and it was an incredible weekend! I plan on posting in much more detail about the event over the next week or so. To tide you over, here are some professional articles about the Michigan event.

Article about the crew
Article about the beginning of the walk
Article about day 2
Article about day 3

Michigan Crew Day Today!

The Michigan 3-Day officially kicks off today with Crew Day! Alot of people don't realize that the crew meets for about half the day on Thursday for last minute meetings and trainings to ensure the event runs smoothly. As a matter of fact, several teams (route marking, camp logistics) will be officially "on event" in about an hour; for those teams, it's more like the Breast Cancer 4-Day.

Less than 24 hours until the route opens!

Shorter Radiation for Breast Cancer?

Here's an article from MSNBC.com that could bring some welcome news for people fighting early stage breast cancer. A shorter (and less costly) course of radiation was as effective as traditional radiation therapy in the studies outlined in this article. Hopefully, the conclusions hold up. Shorter radiation courses, according to the article, could increase the rate of breast conservation by allowing more women the option of lumpectomy followed by radiation, rather than a mastectomy.

Until there is a cure, any progress that leads to more successful, less debilitating treatment is welcome news.

Article on ClevelandWomen.com

There's a nice article on ClevelandWomen.com about this year's Cleveland event. It's interesting because the author started her piece "not getting it". From reading the message boards over at the 3-Day site, I know we've all dealt with skeptics and that we all have a different way of reacting. Well, here's a woman that, despite her skepticism, came out and talked to walkers, explored a pit stop and visited with spectators. In the end-she got it.

Shameless plug: my husband and I are pictured with a spectator at a cheering station in the 9th picture. In another picture you can see my son and mother-in-law in the background.

Cleveland '08- Day 3

Ahh, day 3. Always a great day in 3-Day land. You set out with such a feeling of lightness; after all, your two-thirds of the way there. You're going to get to the holding area and collect your victory shirt. You're going to have a wonderful closing ceremony. It's easy to get motivated on day 3.

Day 3 in Cleveland was incredible! After walking through Little Italy, lunch was at the botanical gardens. What a beautiful setting! As I was eating my lunch under a tree, I noticed some music. There was a young lady playing her guitar and singing on the other side of the gardens. It really added a nice, relaxing touch.

After lunch we walked through another park area that was having a "Walk and Roll" Sunday. The road was closed to motor vehicles to allow walkers, bikers, bladers, etc to have the run of the place. In addition to some really kind vendors along the way, the place was filled with cultural gardens for dozens of different countries. I really hope I get back there some time to visit the gardens when I have a little more time to enjoy them.

After coming out of the park, the rest of the walk was along the shore of Lake Erie. It really was a majestic sight. After making our way past the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the stadium where the Cleveland Browns play, we entered the holding area. Since there was a chance of rain, the holding and closing had been moved indoors to the Convention Center.

I really don't think I can adequately describe holding and closing to people that have not been there before. It's such a mix of emotions. You're relieved to have made it, you're happy to see friends and family and you're a little sad to be leaving. I had the pleasure of seeing my friend and fearless leader, Jordan (my Crew and Volunteer Coordinator in Michigan) carry in the "My Hero" banner to closing. And, of course, the survivor circle was an incredibly emotional moment. My favorite part of the ceremony involved some of the banners, but I'm not going to spoil the moment for anyone that might be participating in an event later this season.



I want to thank everyone involved in the Cleveland event. I had a great time and can't wait for Michigan in just a couple short weeks.

Cleveland '08-Day 2

So, day 2...I honestly remember very little of day 2. I remember getting to pit stop 4 and seeing my husband, son and mother-in-law after their fun day at the zoo. I also remember my calves being very unhappy with me. I remember stopping at pit 5 for about 45 seconds in order to high tail it to camp and be done walking for the day. It was a good day, but tough. I find day 2 is always the toughest; the excitement of getting started has worn off and the anticipation of reaching the holding area hasn't kicked in yet.

Cleveland '08- Day 1

This year I chose to participate in two events. I didn't want to have to choose between walking and serving as a crew captain, so I decided to do both! I picked Cleveland for my second event for a couple reasons: 1) it's close to Detroit and 2) I knew lots of my Michigan friends would also be heading down there.



The morning of opening ceremonies starts early. Walkers report by 6am (crew has to be there at 4:30am, so no complaining here!). After a group stretch and a beautiful ceremony we made our way out of Thistledown Racetrack. Since I'm not from the area I don't know much about the places we walked through (except that there were alot of "Heights") but we really got to see some beautiful neighborhoods.

This blog really isn't intended to be a comprehensive report of every detail, so I'll keep it simple. I really enjoyed Day 1 of the Cleveland event. I got to see just about all of my Michigan peeps that were crewing and I made every last inch, which is an accomplishment I'm quite proud of.

Why?

Someone invariably asks me why I do the Breast Cancer 3-Day every year. After all, I don't have any family with breast cancer and very few friends have had it either. I think that's beside the point. Why wouldn't I help raise money and awareness for breast cancer? EVERYONE has breasts (yes, men have to worry about it too). The 3-Day has become a very special event for me. Now that I participate, I have many friends who are survivors or are fighting at this very moment. And even if I didn't know a single person who had been affected in some way by breast cancer, wouldn't it be enough to want to do something positive? Wouldn't it be enough to want to contribute to something larger than one's self? Wouldn't it be enough to want to be a part of something so optimistic in our highly cynical world? I think it is and that is why I participate in the Breast Cancer 3-Day.