Please follow me on Facebook as I embark on the journey of my tour de Avon - my AVON 39 challenge - I crushed it in 2016 and I intend to do it again! It's a year round effort for me and it's a blast - join me here: http://tinyurl.com/KAMFBAVON (cut and paste url if necessary)
Nearly 40,000 women and 450 men die of breast cancer every year and that number has hardly changed in the last two decades.
Among all cancers, only lung cancer kills more women. These statistics are unacceptable.
Most often, breast cancer deaths occur among those with metastatic, or advanced, breast cancer. Up to 30% of breast cancer patients who have been treated years earlier and have thought they were "Survivors," experience a recurrence of the disease. Imagine their shock and how frightening and painful it is to experience their cancer metastasizing in only a few months or even 15 or more years after their initial diagnosis. During my 2014 walk, I met a woman walking for her friend who at that time was undergoing treatment for the third time - she had been diagnosed with breast cancer three times!
Research into metastatic breast cancer is dramatically under-funded, receiving only about 5% of breast cancer research funding and an equally low percentage of scientific attention. The Avon Foundation has identified 9 groundbreaking research projects that could advance our understanding of metastatic breast cancer.
This is one reason why I continue to walk the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and in 2017 I’m proud to say I’ll be stepping out for my 10th walk!
I started this journey in 2008 to fill a void and to honor two very special women, Sylvia and Norma. Along the way, I’ve learned a lot about myself in terms of perseverance, stamina, strength, will, fear and generosity but more importantly, I met so many men and women who shared amazing stories of winning one or more bouts of breast cancer or losing family members to this disease. I learned how living with or losing someone to this disease changes a person’s or a family’s life. I will never forget the story of Pete Devereaux from 2014; or from the Husband and Wife, each diagnosed with Breast Cancer one year apart shared with us in 2012.
The Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade funds research to find a cure, programs to provide preventative and diagnostic services to the under and uninsured and services to care for those going through treatment as well as fund educational programs. I'll be just one of thousands of people who will walk 39.3 miles over two days, raising awareness, promoting education. I believe 100% in this foundation and I will continue walking the Avon 2 Day Walk for Breast Cancer until there is no longer a need.
Please follow me on Facebook as I embark on the journey of my tour de Avon - my AVON 39 challenge - I crushed it in 2016 and I intend to do it again! It's a year round effort for me and it's a blast - join me here: http://tinyurl.com/KAMFBAVON (cut and paste url if necessary)
