I Run For Life

If you want to hear the song they played when all the survivors got on the stage at the race, play the video above. It always makes me cry.. but Melissa Etheridge is a 6 year breast cancer survivor (in the video her hair is short because she's only a year out from chemo). It's a song she wrote. One of my favorite verses: "It's a blur since they told me about it/How the darkness had taken its toll/And they cut into my skin/And they cut into my body/But they will never get a piece of my soul."

Soo, I had THE BEST time at the Susan G. Komen: Race for the Cure last Sunday! My whole family was there, as well as one of my best friends and 5 girls I went to high school with. And.. I wasn't the only bald headed woman walking around.. which was certainly a highlight of the day. :)

Even with the cooler weather and cloudy day, there was an amazing turnout. More than 1,300 people participated in Portland's first ever Race for the Cure. More than $100,000 was raised, most of which will stay in the state of Maine to help with funding.

Right from the moment I stepped into the area where the tents were set-up (bright and early at 7:45 a.m.), I couldn't help but notice how nice and friendly everyone was: they wanted to help, they wanted to give me a hug, they wanted me to dress up in the diva costume, they wanted to ask me about my treatment and diagnosis.. I can honestly say that, for the first time since I was diagnosed, I didn't feel alone. There were actually other women there who understood virtually every feeling I have felt. They had been on the same rollercoater of emotions that I've been on since February.

I met a woman who was 28 at the time of her diagnosis. Six years after her first diagnosis, she had a recurrence in the same exact spot. Not only that, but she now has congestive heart failure due to the chemotherapy medicine, Adrimyacin. She's now 37 and other than those two set-backs, she is doing well. Meeting her added to my sense of union rather than obscurity because she was diagnosed under the age of 30.

I was also interviewed by Channel 6 News. Woohoo! 5 seconds of fame! :)

Here is the clip but you'll have to copy and paste the information below into another web browser because when I added it the form for a blog, it said the video was unavailable:

http://www.wcsh6.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=607601362001#/Komen+Race+for+the+Cure+runs+through+Portland/607601362001


All in all, it was an amazingly uplifting day! I had the love and comfort of my family and friends that were there to walk with me, as well as an unshakable hope from being surrounded by survivors. What more could a girl ask for? :)

And someday if they tell you about it
If the darkness knocks on your door
Remember her, Remember me
We will be running
As we have before
Running for answers
Running for more

I run for hope
I run to feel
I run for the truth
For all that is real
I run for your mother,your sister,your daughter,your wife
for you and me my friend
I RUN FOR LIFE

Have a safe and happy weekend! My mom and I are headed to upstate New York to visit family. :)