October = Breast Cancer Month

Will every year I try and do something involving the support of breast cancer research. Back in late 2003 my grandmother past away from a rare form of breast cancer that she was diagnosed with in 2000. In 2000 they told her she had maybe 8 months to live after a series of experimental treatments and chemo she lived past those 8 months. Cancer has always been in my family as if another member of the family, I have known cancer for a very long time and with a strong family history it’s not leaving our family anytime soon. My Tia has been in remission of cancer for almost two years now and we just found out that my other Tia (my mom’s sister) has been diagnosed this past Monday, lucky it’s still in the early stages and now we move forward with the next step, treatment.

It’s hard to think about how you grow up with a member of your family living and dying with cancer and the numbers of family members increase with cancer, the chances of yourself being diagnosed increases as well. In a way you become numb to the cancer and the negativity that comes with it and you just move forward and support the members of your family in any way you can.

On October 18th, I walked at the Susan G. Koman Race for a Cure in Temecula with Jose and a new friend, an Alpha Phi from Chicago that is now living here locally, Thanks Erin for joining us. Knowing that my Tia is going to have to fight breast cancer, the race was different for me than in the past. Before it was about the memory of my grandmother and now it’s in memory of my grandmother and in support of my Tia’s that are fighting. During the walk I thought about the women I am walking for and the thousands that were walking for their family members, for themselves and for research. It is a very overwhelming feeling when you are surrounded by thousands of people in PINK!!