The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

This past Sunday morning my family woke up unusually early for a weekend. Unusual, but not unexpected. We are accustomed to this once a year pilgrimage, and have been doing it since the thirteenth of May 2004.

On that day my wife’s world crashed around her. She was diagnosed with Breast Cancer at age 37. After two lumpectomies, a first round of Chemo, and 3 days in the Intensive Care Unit as a result of the Chemo, she started to rebuild.

Then, in October of 2007, while playing third base for a softball team, she was struck by a runner. In the days following, she noticed that the pain level in her sternum was not reducing, and she made an appointment to see her doctor.

That bastard had returned, only this time instead of attacking her breasts it encroached her upper sternum. High levels of radiation were the treatment regime.

Since then she diligently sees her doctor for check-ups and exams. Once a year, in between those appointments she makes a very special appointment for the entire family. She registers us all for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Temecula, CA.

If you have never been to a Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure event, you need to go.

You have to go

This year was the biggest recorded event in the history of Temecula. Thousands of people were there, in every kind of t-shirt possible. From the white given by the event coordinators, to the black group shirts saying “give cancer the stank face”. It’s a myriad of colors and statements with the goal raising money to crush cancer.

There is one t-shirt though that you seek out – pink. Pink t-shirts are the color in all Susan J. Komen events that signify the most precious of persons, the survivors. I will refer to survivors for the remainder of this story as women. There are male breast cancer survivors, but none were at this event.

They are the warriors who have stood, or are still engaged on the battlefield fighting the unwelcomed intruder for their life.

There are several programs that take place at the event. There is the survivor’s breakfast, the parade of roses, and the raising of the roses to name a few.

After the survivor’s breakfast they line up and walk with roses held high to the stage seating. Cheers, tears, and smiles for miles are all you can see in their faces.

Next is the raising of the roses. Once seated, the women are asked, who here is a survivor for less than one year up to five?

Those whom it applied to raised their rose for all to see. This continues by years of five. It just kept going… and going… and going…

The survivor with the longest time since diagnosis was 45 years!

The event coordinators had some available time and they gave a microphone to the first row, asked them their name and how long they’ve been a survivor. You would hear grandmothers, mothers, sisters, daughters, cousins, aunts, and wives give their information.

As an outsider (cancer free) I listened to what these women were saying. I could not fathom the number of family members diagnosed. There were three sisters there who were all diagnosed with cancer. Mothers and daughters; grandmothers, daughters and granddaughters.

As the microphone was passed, some women gave two dates. Well, it’s been 22 years on the left, and one and a half years on the right.

Quite a few women had that same story.

There were two women sitting behind my wife and I. I asked if I could take their photograph. When I asked their names one replied, I’m Cheri and this is my sister Jennifer.

Jennifer has been a survivor for 10 years, while Cheri has been one for five months.

Two items stuck into my brain hard that day:

1) The number of years women have been survivors

2) How young many survivors are

All persons registered for the race are given pink sheets of paper. You write who you are there for. Some of them say In Celebration of, while others read In Memory of.

Words cannot truely describe the event, the people, or the presence you feel while you are there. So I will close by letting the photos speak for themselves…

If you know anyone or would like a full size copy of any photo here please email me @ roger.paige@yahoo.com and I will give it to you. If you use any photo for use on another site please give credit to its origin.

Tags: Race for the Cure, Temecula