Susan G Komen, A Great and Wonderful Cause, 5K

Had the opportunity to run in the Susan G Komen, a great and wonderful cause, Race for the Cure 5K over the weekend. It was an awesome experience to see that many people come together for one cause. According to what I've heard, there were about 14,000 people who ran in either the 5K or the one mile fun run in Birmingham alone. A great turnout, especially for a cool and rainy Saturday morning in the middle of college football season.

The picture above is our crew of folks that ran. We belong to the same church and most of us are in the same Sunday school class. One other husband also participated, but he had stepped away for a moment when the picture was taken. Several things stand out to me when I look at this picture:

1. Sure have some skinny legs compared to the rest of my body. (Lost 25 lbs in the last couple of months so the rest of my body is catching up);


2. The 7 year old was the fastest of the bunch;


3. More importantly, statistically speaking, at least one of the women will be struck by breast cancer at some point in her lifetime. Think about that for a second. Pretty startling.

While I was running in the race, my mind wandered to many subjects. The one that kept coming up was how breast cancer has affected my family. My grandmother and mother both are survivors. My aunt was not so lucky although she put up a good fight. That's three women in two generations of the same family who have been affected. Chances are good that other women on this side of the family will also have to battle the disease before it's all said and done.

Thought about my aunt Tricia when I saw folks running in memory of someone else. She was a great woman who taught first grade. She loved kids but oddly enough never had any biological children of her own. Can still see the tears streaming down the preacher's face while he was giving her eulogy. Still think about her often and wonder why God chose to bring her back home. Maybe He liked her singing and was ready for her to join his choir. Don't know. Do know her battle has inspired a lot of people, and that probably had something to do with it, too. Funny how He works that way. Anyway...

Breast cancer research is one of those things I always give to whenever I can. Do it in honor of my mother and grandmother and in memory of my aunt. I'm sure there's someone in your life who has been touched by this disease and would encourage you to do what you can, too. Even if you don't contribute to finding a cure for this disease, giving to research on another disease could lead to the cure for that one and a whole bunch of others. Already planning to run again next year.

If you are a woman, be sure to check yourself early and often for lumps and make sure you get your mammograms when you are supposed to. Right now, early detection is the best and most effective way to defeat this disease. Someday these won't be necessary, but, for now, they are. And, men, just for the record, we get breast cancer, too, although it's a much smaller percentage. So, it won't hurt to check yourself, either.

Until next time...