IT IS NOT HARD TO REMEMBER HOW MANY YEARS AGO MY MOTHER, POLLY, DIED. MY DAUGHTERS WERE ONLY A FEW WEEKS AWAY FROM GIVING BIRTH TO MY GRANDCHILDREN, MARKO AND LAUREN. THEY ARE FIVE NOW. I WISH SHE COULD HAVE KNOWN THEM… THEY WOULD HAVE MADE HER LAUGH!

WHEN MY MOTHER WAS 57 SHE NOTICED A DIMPLED LUMP THE SIZE OF A SMALL COIN IN HER BREAST. THE DIAGNOSIS WAS BREAST CANCER. SHE DID ALL THE RIGHT THINGS FROM THEN ON: SHE STOPPED SMOKING, HAD A DOUBLE MASTECTOMY AND WENT THROUGH THE NECESSARY CHEMOTHERAPY WHILE CONTINUING TO WORK AT HEWLETT PACKARD. I REMEMBER HOW HARD IT WAS FOR HER TO GO THROUGH A TREATMENT LATE IN THE WEEK AND THEN RETURN TO WORK AFTER RECOVERING OVER THE WEEKEND.

DID YOU KNOW THAT UP TO 30% OF WOMEN WHO DISCOVER EARLY SYMPTOMS OF BREAST CANCER PUT OFF SEEING A DOCTOR FOR THREE OR MORE MONTHS, EVEN THOUGH THIS DELAY COULD LOWER THEIR SURVIVAL RATES?

FOR SEVEN YEARS THERE WAS NO RE-OCCURRENCE. WE ALL THOUGHT SHE HAD IT LICKED. UNFORTUNATELY, DURING HER THIRD YEAR OF RETIREMENT, SHE WAS AGAIN DIAGNOSED WITH BREAST CANCER. THIS TIME IT CAME BACK ON THE OUTSIDE OF HER LUNGS. HER "GOLDEN YEARS" WERE CUT SHORT.

SHE IS MISSED… AND, NOW IT IS TIME TO REMEMBER HER COURAGE… BY SHOWING OURS.

I HEARD A RADIO ADVERTISEMENT ABOUT THE AVON BREAST CANCER CHALLENGE---60 MILES IN THREE DAYS FROM SAN JOSE TO SAN FRANCISCO IN MID-JULY. I WOULD BE 56 THEN...COULD I DO IT? MY MOTHER WAS A STRONG WOMAN...SHE HAD TO BE TO ENDURE HER DEMANDING LIFE WITH SIX CHILDREN AND A JOB. WE COME FROM STURDY PIONEER STOCK THAT SETTLED THE WEST IN CONESTOGA WAGONS… AND, MY MOTHER GAVE ME THE DETERMINATION TO FOLLOW MY DREAMS. SO, I ASKED FOR JOHN’S SUPPORT, AND I SIGNED UP.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT REALLY GAVE ME A LIFT! MY YOUNGER SISTER IN SEBASTOPOL, SIGNED UP, AS DID JOHN’S SISTER IN LOS GATOS. THEN MY DAUGHTER DECIDED TO WALK. FINALLY, TO MY ADDITIONAL SURPRISE, MY OLDER SISTER IN NORTH CAROLINA SIGNED ON. NOW, THAT’S A TEAM!! SO FAR, WE ARE UP TO TEN MILES ON A LONG WALK... WE’RE GETTING THERE!

THE AVON PRODUCTS FOUNDATION SUPPORTS A NATIONAL NETWORK OF RESEARCH, MEDICAL, SOCIAL SERVICE AND COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS THAT ADDRESS EVERY FACET OF THE DISEASE. THEIR GOAL IS TO BENEFIT ALL WOMEN, WITH A SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON REACHING THE MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED, INCLUDING LOW-INCOME, ELDERLY, AND MINORITY WOMEN, AND THOSE WITH INADEQUATE HEALTH INSURANCE.

I’M HOPING I CAN PERSONALLY RAISE $3,000 FOR THIS CAUSE. HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP… SUPPORT ME IN MY WALK. YOUR FULLY TAX-DEDUCTIBLE CHECK OF ANY AMOUNT MADE OUT TO “AVON BREAST CANCER 3-DAY” WILL HELP TREMENDOUSLY. SEND ME AN EMAIL TO "JANIVA@GARLIC.COM" AND I'LL GIVE YOU MORE INFORMATION.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE, I’LL PUT THE NAME OF A PERSON YOU WANT TO REMEMBER ON MY T-SHIRT FOR THE THIRD DAY’S WALK. IT WOULD BE AN HONOR TO DO THAT.

LAST YEAR THIS BAY-AREA WALK NETTED OVER 6.1 MILLION DOLLARS FOR CANCER RESEARCH. THAT WAS AN AVERAGE OF $2,019 PER WALKER. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE, YOU CAN GET INFORMATION BY GOING ONTO THEIR SITE . WITH YOUR SUPPORT AND COURAGE TO GIVE, WE CAN SURPASS THAT AMOUNT. I THINK YOU KNOW HOW SERIOUS I AM ABOUT FINISHING THIS WALK. I WILL APPRECIATE ANY AMOUNT YOU CAN GIVE. SO, UNTIL THEN, WE WILL CONTINUE TO... WALK ON!!