My 3-Day Walk

Sorry for the delay (Liz R., I'm on it! Finally!)!
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Dear Friends & Family,
As most of you already know, I was diagnosed with breast cancer last fall at the age of 35. It was pretty terrifying at first, but I've got great doctors (I can't say enough good things about all the doctors and nurses at Georgetown) and my treatment is going really well. I'm finished with chemotherapy, and the tumor has shrunk considerable, which means a lot less tissue will have to come out when I have my lumpectomy - thankfully! Afterwards, I'll have radiation to clean up any extra cells that might not have made the trip out of my boob to the pathology lab. I tell you, having cancer sucks. It's going to end up taking up the better part of a year, time I could be putting to better use. And chemo is a real energy suck – I spent more time sleeping & napping over the winter than ever! And, of course, the whole no-hair thing – did you know that hair continues to fall out for a few weeks after chemo is done? So I'm still bald and am continuing to lose what little remains of my eyelashes and eyebrows! But, for all my complaints, I've had it relatively easy. For one thing, it was caught early. For another thing, not too long ago, treatment for breast cancer (even early stage cancer) involved a radical mastectomy, and chemo that would have you flat on your back for months, when you weren't in the bathroom, sick as a dog.
My cancer was caught early and the treatment is working because of advances made in the areas of detection and treatment. And how are all these advances made? I'm glad you asked! Through the efforts and support of organizations like Susan G. Komen For the Cure, and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund, the beneficiaries of the 3-Day Walk, in which I will be participating this October, in the Washington, DC walk. Every major advancement in breast cancer research, treatment, education, and prevention in the past 25 years has been touched by a Komen for the Cure grant, and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund provides ongoing support to breast cancer initiatives. Thanks to the hard work and support of organizations like these, there are many more options for treatment these days, and the treatment itself is more targeted and less debilitating – I even worked throughout chemotherapy, with just the occasional day off! But (there's always a but, isn't there?) for all the advances made recently, there's still work to be done, which is why I'm walking. My goal is to raise $5,000. I know that with your help, I can raise even more than that!
Until there's a cure, the best way to ensure survival is through early detection. So, please, everyone (you guys, too!), feel your unmentionables! Don't just do a monthly exam – feel them when you're getting dressed, or getting undressed, or soaping up in the shower. Get to know what's normal for you, at all times of the month. And if you find something, get it checked out. Most of the time, these things turn out to be nothing, but better safe than sorry!
So please consider donating to my goal, or someone else's – these are wonderful and worthy organizations. If you'd like to join my team and walk with me, please get in touch and I can give you information on the walk. One last thing – a donation to my goal isn't for me. It's for your mother, your sister, your daughter, aunt, niece, father, brother, friend. It could even be . . . for you (ooh, spooky)! So keep getting to know those breasts!
Love, Liz

To donate online, go to http://www.the3day.org/, click on 'Donate', and search for me (as Elizabeth Scott).
One last thing: if you have any goods or services (sports tickets, weekends at vacation houses, anything!) you'd be willing to donate for a raffle and silent auction I'm having soon, please let me know! And keep an eye out for invitations to this fundraiser and other events!