the avon walk for breast cancer

i have news!

in october, i will be walking 39 miles in two days for breast cancer.

for me, the marathon-and-a-half walk is a physical challenge that i have wanted to do for a number of years. but in order to participate in this amazing and challenging event, i need to raise a significant amount of funds that will go towards funding breast cancer screening, diagnosis, treatment, support services and scientific research, including prevention, in the new york area.

first, some statistics and information about breast cancer*

chances are, you know at least one women who has had breast cancer, because the average american woman has a 1 in 8 chance of developing the disease during her lifetime. in fact, women living in north america have the highest rate of breast cancer in the world. i personally know many women, and men, who have battled breast cancer or made it through a breast cancer "scare." i am walking for them.

it is estimated that this year there will be more then 182 thousand new cases of invasive breast cancer in the U.S., as well as more than 67 thousand cases of carcinoma in situ, a non-invasive disease that is the earliest form of breast cancer. the women who receive those diagnoses in the coming months could be my friends or relatives, or even me. i am walking for them.

when i walk, i will be joined by many breast cancer survivors. there are about 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the country right now. i am walking to make sure there will be more survivors and less tragedies.

but, there are tragedies. breast cancer is the second cause of cancer death in women, causing more than 40 thousand women to die this year, according to estimates. but organizations like the avon foundation, which is organizing my walk, have raised awareness of the disease in recent years, and the death rate has been on the decline since about 1990. i am walking to make sure more women know the value of early detection and screening. i am walking to make sure death rates continue to decline.

now, a little about the walk.

on the morning of october 4, i will start off on my walk, trekking 26.2 miles (the length of a marathon) around manhattan and the boroughs (route to be determined). the first half of the walk will end at an area where we will camp out for the night. the next morning, we will depart again, walking 13.1 miles to the closing ceremonies (site also tbd).

in addition to the sweat and perseverance i will put towards this cause during those two days in october, i am also putting in a good amount of my own time and money to train and prepare for the feat. and, i'm going to be donating my own money to reach my $1800 fund raising goal.

but that's where you come in. i need your help to reach my goal and participate in the walk. open up your hearts and put a little of that economic stimulus check towards a worthy cause.

you can donate online by visiting my donation page. you can also send me a check (call or email me for my address).

i will be doing this walk with my friend lauren, and we are on a team together. we will be combining our fundraising efforts to reach at least $3600 together. help us raise even more than that.

here are some donating suggestions:

-you can donate to me per mile i will be walking. $1 per mile = $39.30; $.50 per mile=$19.65
-find out if your company will match your donation
-check my donation page, and this blog, for updates on my training and fundraising progress.

thank you in advance for helping me! your help and support will motivate me to reach the finish line in october!



*statistics from the american cancer society