August 23, 24 and 25th my husband Phil and I participated in the Breast Cancer 3-Day walk. It was an amazing experience. After months of fund raising, and training we finally began the 60 mile journey with 2,600 other walkers. Some of the walkers were breast cancer survivors themselves. Phil’s mother had breast cancer treated 5 years ago and her mother died of breast cancer 55 years ago. My grandmother had a double mastectomy many years ago. We’ve had numerous friends go through cancer diagnosis and treatments. At opening ceremony and again at the closing it was heart wrenching to see so many affected by this deadly decease. Three young women next to us at opening ceremony broke down in tears remembering their mother who had recently passed on. Along the trails and in camp we found many mother/daughter teams walking for the cure. There was even a team of “Dudes for Boobs” – 19 men committed to eliminating breast cancer (and saving cleavage).
The walk itself was amazing. Well organized, and energetic. The opening ceremony and again at the closing ceremony there was not a dry eye among us. 2,600 walkers raised over $6,500,000 dollars for research. Phil’s grandmother probably would have lived if treated with today’s technology. Many will benefit from the over $1 billion raised by the 3-day foundation for breast cancer research, and awareness campaigns. The walks on the trails were deliberate and fun to talk and meet so many different people committed to helping others who have been affected by cancer. I have 19 blisters and some black toe nails, but still say it was definitely worth it. There was a profound poster that followed us stating, “Her cancer will still be there long after your blisters heal”. We could go on… It was fun to “pay it forward” in some small way these past few days.
Besides that we (Phil especially enjoyed this) got to walk and camp for three days with 2,400 + women who were all joking about their breasts: ta-ta’s, giggly jigglies, boobs, ‘squeeze a boob – save a life’… ! The team names were funny and touching: “eight tough titties” (4 women),”save second base”, “boom island or bust”, as well as some serious thought provoking themes: “last year we walked in her honor, this year we walk in her memory” worn by two daughters with their mother’s picture on the back of their t-shirts.
We sincerely thank you for your financial and emotional support. We reached our fund raising goal, and together we’ve done a little to educate and motivate others to seek early detection and prevention. It was a fantastic experience and I wanted to share a little of this with you. If you’d like to find out more information about the 3-day, or are interested in participating in this amazing experirence, please go to www.the3day.org.
Peace!
Sandi Lindgren
