I am an athlete.

Thanks to so many of you, I have reached my goal for the Komen 3-day walk...which is $2,200. Wow! Komen is so focused on the CURE for cancer now, they are being so bold with their approach. They donate a lot of their money to research. Only 15% of money donated goes to admin costs, which is impressive.

I am still working on getting an approved letter from my physician or nurse regarding me being able to do the walk. Because of my chemo, the coaches for the walk would like me to get this approval so that a physician is comfortable with my choice. My determination is strong, as always. I do plan on being kind to myself and not walking the whole twenty miles each day. I will have had to do chemo on the Thursday before the walk starts on Friday...so anything I can do, will be a great accomplishment.

I have some preliminary goals, but I will just be happy to be there with my sister and one of her good friends from high school. (My sis and her friend are the type of people I want to be when I grow up, gracious and kind and giving and strong and athletic...you get my point. I always admired them growing up so it is really sweet to me that they have raised so much money for our team, for a cause that is so personal to me. Heather's friend has raised the most money of all of us and graciously spread it among the team. It is her good karma and positive attitude that has helped my cause so much! I will forever be grateful to her for being such a good person.)

I am also raising money for the Young Survival Coalition, a branch of the American Cancer Society that focuses on providing a mechanism or young survivors like myself to come together and fight. Once again, like with Komen, I am the exact type of person they appeal to...a young survivor who should have never gotten this disease. They have a bike ride from Hershey, PA to NYC in October. Such a pretty area. I am not sure to what extent I will be able to do all of the ride, but I have been excited about it since I registered. I did register before I started chemotherapy, and I have doubted my ability along the way...but the ride is important to me. The cause is my very own....and it involves riding a bike, which is a sport that has saved me over and over.

I am going to try to think of some creative fundraisers for that, like maybe t-shirts with the Pass It On and YSC logo. I am a t-shirt girl so I LUV getting a t-shirt. I am working with a vendor now to get the specifics nailed down. I want to make shirts that will appeal to men, women and kids so I am thinking through that. I would have kid's sizes too because I always want to get shirts for my kids when I raise $$ for a cause and I hate to have them in gargantuan adult shirts.

I rode my bike last night. It was a beautiful experience. I hadn't ridden it for over a month. It had a cob web on it, which might normally make me sad. To be honest, which is what I try to do, It did make me sad for a second, but then, I remembered that my energy is doing so great that I can ride my bike on a hard chemotherapy and two targeted cancer drugs. Who am I to complain? I should always be grateful so I will keep working toward that goal.

Once I got on the bike, it was easy to be thankful. As I coasted down the hills and worked my way back up the hills, I started to remember who I am. I am a fighter. I am determined. I am grateful and compassionate and empathetic. I am an athlete. I can endure this battle with cancer because I just can. And, I am happy at all if my sharing it with just one of you will make a difference...that it might help you to remember your health and take it seriously.

I am a guinea pig in some respects, this blog makes me a naked one at that. I am the girl whose cancer probably would have taken her life twenty five years ago...like Susan G. Komen. Yet, that was never a part of my story. Even when I have felt lost, I have always had the right answer for the next medicine or the right doctor. I have always felt the nudge to make a certain decision. There has always been hope. I have learned to never let anyone steal that from me again. There are Hope-Stealers everywhere so don't let them get to you either.

Thanks for any support you give me, including reading the blog and just believing in me. That matters just as much, maybe more, than monetary donations.

Blessings,
Lolo