When Taylor M. was a young girl, her family would drive from Orange County to San Diego to cheer on her grandfather, lovingly known as “Poppy,” as he walked in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day®. What began as a family tradition soon became a source of inspiration that would shape Taylor’s future.
“My dad and my poppy would always tell me, ‘If you find a job that you love, then it’s no longer a job,” Taylor, now 29, recalled. “And I have remembered that ever since.”
Taylor’s grandfather, Cliff M., has been a fixture in the 3-Day community since 2002. He formed his team, Cliff’s Crew, after his dear friend, Betty Lou, died from breast cancer. Over the past 20 years, Cliff’s Crew has walked in honor of friends, family and the promise to keep walking until the cures for breast cancer are found.
“My grandfather has had friends and family affected by breast cancer and they have motivated him to support the 3-Day for the last 20 years,” Taylor explained. “I saw that growing up, and there really wasn’t anything else that could have motivated me more.”
In 2012, Taylor, then 16, joined the 3-Day for the first time. She walked alongside her grandfather to honor her Aunt Donna and her great-grandmother, both breast cancer survivors. Since then, the 3-Day has been a family affair, with Taylor, her dad, mom, sister and Poppy walking and supporting each other through the years.
When Taylor began college and pursued a demanding degree in medical physics, she stepped away from walking the 3-Day for a few years, but she never left the cause. In 2016, she returned to honor Heather, a beloved member of Cliff’s Crew, who died from metastatic breast cancer.
“That year was incredibly emotional. Heather passed away before the walk, and it was very hard,” Taylor said. “But it was also very heartwarming. We got to see so many people come together to support one of our own.”
That same year, Cliff’s Crew raised a record-breaking $160,000. Since 2005, the team has walked with heart and purpose, raising more than $1 million for breast cancer research. This year marks the team’s 20th anniversary.
Today, Taylor is a third-year PhD student at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas, one of the top cancer centers in the world. Her work focuses on the long-term effects of radiation therapy in childhood cancer survivors, especially how treatments may increase breast cancer risk later in life.
“The 3-Day has given me so many memories, but it also gave me direction and a purpose,” Taylor said.
Taylor received the 2024 Career Development Trainee Award from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and was awarded second place at the Early Career Investigator Symposium hosted by the 2025 Southwest Chapter of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine. In May, she presented her research at the 2025 European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology annual conference in Vienna, Austria.
After she receives her PhD, Taylor plans to complete a residency and pursue a dual role in the medical field of treating breast cancer patients in clinic and conducting survivorship research.
Screenshot
While Taylor’s schedule doesn’t always allow her to walk in the 3-Day every year, she remains closely connected to the community and her grandfather is deeply moved by everything she’s accomplished.
“We didn’t realize the 3-Day would make such an impact on Taylor’s life choices, but it did, and we are so proud of her,” Cliff said.