You have the power to cure Breast Cancer...
Dear Friends and Family,
You all probably already know about my dedication to finding a cure for cancer, any cancer and the steps (52 miles through SF so far) it takes to make this happen. I know you have read my letters about the 1 in 7 women who will be diagnosed with Breast Cancer in their lifetime and about the one who dies from Breast Cancer every 13 minutes. Those are scary statistics, and ones that hit too close to home. This year I'm going to tell you about why I chose Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in the first place to give you a better understanding of where your wonderful donations go. In the September of 2003 my mother in law Karen found a lump after having had a clean mammogram. That lump was biopsied and found malignant. In turn there were meetings with the family, surgeons and oncologists, then surgeries like lumpectomies and port placements for Chemotherapy treatments and then the radiation therapy that takes weeks of daily appointments to finish. Karen had to wear a mask for her oldest son's 30th birthday party. She had to sit in the back of the church with a mask on for Wyatt, my son's, Christmas program at preschool that year. She lost her hair and she bought a wig. Now she is a survivor of 3.5 years.We did our part to support her. Chris, my husband shaved his head. I wanted to do something important too. I was not a flattering bald person so I went in search of a charity that does many things besides just giving money to research and pharmaceutical companies. It was important to me to find a charity who raises awareness, supports the community, gives straight to the victims of BC on a local and national level and supports research too. After spending many hours of going through huge amounts of literature about where our money goes for many different organizations, Avon was my choice. The money we raise is dedicated to grants, many of which are local, to help women get low or no cost mammograms, ultrasounds, treatment, support, help for their families, education about protecting themselves and finding a way to look forward to tomorrow. This is such a wonderful charity. One that I am so proud to be a part of. If you want to read more about where our money goes to you can look to this link http://walk.avonfoundation.org/site/PageServer?pagename=walk_how_spent_2k7. It shows that more than 75% goes directly back out to the community. In comparison to other charities dedicated to the same fight this is huge. We are raising money to save lives. I am required to raise at least $1800 so I can walk 39 miles over two days in San Francisco to raise awareness for Breast Cancer. I am going to get blisters, drink Gaterade and water, use porta-a-potties, shower in a semi truck and sleep in a tent next to thousands of other people who believe that we are making a difference this July. I am going to make friends who are survivors, mothers, daughters, sisters, husbands, brothers and lovers of women who have fought and won or were not so fortunate, connect with my mom and my best friend who are dedicated to making a difference too. I am a different person then I was before Karen was diagnosed because I saw her sitting in that chemo room, I saw her hair fall out, I had to keep her grandchildren away so she wouldn't get sick, because I listened to my aunt Sandy tell me that my uncle James, who had Leukemia, would drive himself to the hospital to have transfusions and chemo then go back to work everyday (we lost him to cancer in August after an almost 2 year battle). I can see how cancer can tear apart a family or bring it together but it never leaves a family the same. I want to make a difference today before any one else in my family or my friends gets sick or dies from Cancer. So I walk. You can help me to walk this July by making a tax deductible donation to my walk page, sending me a donation by mail with the enclosed envelope if you get this by mail, or by supporting one of my many fund-raisers. Thank you for all of your love and help. You can also keep updated on my progress by checking in on my page.
Dear Friends and Family,
You all probably already know about my dedication to finding a cure for cancer, any cancer and the steps (52 miles through SF so far) it takes to make this happen. I know you have read my letters about the 1 in 7 women who will be diagnosed with Breast Cancer in their lifetime and about the one who dies from Breast Cancer every 13 minutes. Those are scary statistics, and ones that hit too close to home. This year I'm going to tell you about why I chose Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in the first place to give you a better understanding of where your wonderful donations go. In the September of 2003 my mother in law Karen found a lump after having had a clean mammogram. That lump was biopsied and found malignant. In turn there were meetings with the family, surgeons and oncologists, then surgeries like lumpectomies and port placements for Chemotherapy treatments and then the radiation therapy that takes weeks of daily appointments to finish. Karen had to wear a mask for her oldest son's 30th birthday party. She had to sit in the back of the church with a mask on for Wyatt, my son's, Christmas program at preschool that year. She lost her hair and she bought a wig. Now she is a survivor of 3.5 years.We did our part to support her. Chris, my husband shaved his head. I wanted to do something important too. I was not a flattering bald person so I went in search of a charity that does many things besides just giving money to research and pharmaceutical companies. It was important to me to find a charity who raises awareness, supports the community, gives straight to the victims of BC on a local and national level and supports research too. After spending many hours of going through huge amounts of literature about where our money goes for many different organizations, Avon was my choice. The money we raise is dedicated to grants, many of which are local, to help women get low or no cost mammograms, ultrasounds, treatment, support, help for their families, education about protecting themselves and finding a way to look forward to tomorrow. This is such a wonderful charity. One that I am so proud to be a part of. If you want to read more about where our money goes to you can look to this link http://walk.avonfoundation.org/site/PageServer?pagename=walk_how_spent_2k7. It shows that more than 75% goes directly back out to the community. In comparison to other charities dedicated to the same fight this is huge. We are raising money to save lives. I am required to raise at least $1800 so I can walk 39 miles over two days in San Francisco to raise awareness for Breast Cancer. I am going to get blisters, drink Gaterade and water, use porta-a-potties, shower in a semi truck and sleep in a tent next to thousands of other people who believe that we are making a difference this July. I am going to make friends who are survivors, mothers, daughters, sisters, husbands, brothers and lovers of women who have fought and won or were not so fortunate, connect with my mom and my best friend who are dedicated to making a difference too. I am a different person then I was before Karen was diagnosed because I saw her sitting in that chemo room, I saw her hair fall out, I had to keep her grandchildren away so she wouldn't get sick, because I listened to my aunt Sandy tell me that my uncle James, who had Leukemia, would drive himself to the hospital to have transfusions and chemo then go back to work everyday (we lost him to cancer in August after an almost 2 year battle). I can see how cancer can tear apart a family or bring it together but it never leaves a family the same. I want to make a difference today before any one else in my family or my friends gets sick or dies from Cancer. So I walk. You can help me to walk this July by making a tax deductible donation to my walk page, sending me a donation by mail with the enclosed envelope if you get this by mail, or by supporting one of my many fund-raisers. Thank you for all of your love and help. You can also keep updated on my progress by checking in on my page.
Hopes and prayers for a cancer free tomorrow...
Tina D. Mickelson
SF walker 2004, 2006, 2007
No comments:
Post a Comment