How the 3-Day Led to a Path of Purpose in Cancer Research

Taylor & Cliff

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.

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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.

Growing Up in the Pink Bubble

Sierra B. at the Denver 3-Day

Sierra B.’s connection to the Susan G. Komen 3-Day® began long before she was old enough to walk the route. Inspired by her mother, Janice, who became a dedicated participant after supporting a great aunt and a close friend who had breast cancer, Sierra grew up watching the 3-Day impact lives.

“In the Pink Bubble, you meet people who change your life and your perspective on how valuable life is,” said Sierra, now 24.

In 2007, breast cancer struck close to home. Sierra’s grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer and passed away in 2012 after being re-diagnosed. Sierra’s other grandmother died in 2022 from breast cancer. At the time of her first grandmother’s diagnosis, Sierra was only 11 and not old enough to walk the 3-Day, so she joined the Seattle 3-Day Youth Corps instead. The Youth Corps is a select group of young volunteers, aged 10 to 16, who support walkers during the event. She called it an “eye-opening” experience that led to lasting friendships.

“A lot of the other kids had lost grandmothers, aunts and even their moms who had either fought breast cancer or who died from it,” Sierra said. “Youth Corps showed me I wasn’t alone.”

When she turned 15, Sierra began walking the 3-Day with her mom and the Babes 4 Boobs Atlanta Gang. Since then, she’s walked in the Twin Cities, San Diego, Atlanta and Denver. The team has raised $253,961 for the 3-Day and has found success with different fundraisers. In the summer the team hosts a very successful golf tournament. In the fall they put together a corn hole tournament. They also organize a Super Bowl-themed fundraiser. One year, Sierra made and sold chocolate-covered strawberries for Valentine’s Day, raising over $800.

Now with even more close family members and friends getting diagnosed with breast cancer within the last two years, Sierra says her commitment to the 3-Day is stronger than ever. Sierra began recruiting friends in 2023; now two of her best friends walk with her in the 3-Day each year. Aside from the fundraising, Sierra said she values the challenge of the 3-Day and the sense of accomplishment.

“You cross that finish line after walking 60 miles and you think, ‘I really just did that.’” she said. “I could do anything.”

Visit the 3-Day today to register for the final Denver 3-Day!

A Decade Later: How One Mother Honors Her Daughter by Walking the 3-Day

Joyce Laws (center) and her family at the Susan G. Komen 3-Day in San Diego.

This year marks a decade since Joyce L.’s daughter died from breast cancer. To honor her memory, Joyce will return to the Susan G. Komen 3-Day®, a place that holds bittersweet memories.

“She said to me, ‘Mom, when I get through all this, let’s do this,’” Joyce recalled. “We always planned to do a 3-Day together.”

Jennifer was just 31 when she found a lump in her breast in 2009. Around the same time, she learned she was pregnant. Her doctor advised waiting a month to monitor the lump, but a second trimester biopsy confirmed Jennifer had stage 2b lobular breast cancer. She was carrying twins, but heartbreakingly, only one would survive.

Jennifer was pregnant with twins when she was diagnosed with lobular breast cancer.

Despite the devastating news, Jennifer’s resilience kept her moving forward. Doctors removed 23 lymph nodes, 22 of which were cancerous. She had a mastectomy to remove her left breast, and later had another mastectomy to remove the other breast. She also had her ovaries removed due to her estrogen-positive diagnosis.

Through it all, Jennifer remained hopeful. She gave birth to her daughter, Maya, who was healthy and born with a full head of hair despite Jennifer undergoing chemotherapy while pregnant.

“My daughter had no hair from chemo when Maya was born, but that little girl had a head full of black hair. It just proves that the placenta takes care of the baby,” Joyce said.

After Maya’s birth, Jennifer continued chemotherapy and was ecstatic when scans showed no evidence of cancer. Jennifer returned to work as a physical therapist, traveled to India with her husband and daughter, and continued to advocate for herself and raise awareness about breast cancer. Jennifer formed a team, Warriors for Jen, and raised money for the Komen San Diego Race for The Cure® (now the San Diego MORE THAN PINK Walk®). She organized a pizza night fundraiser and comedy event that raised over $6,000.

“No matter how devastating what she was going through was, she was always looking on the bright side,” Joyce said. “She wanted to be out there and helping others.”

But in 2012, the cancer returned and metastasized (spread) to her spine. Jennifer refused to give up. She joined a clinical trial, kept her positive attitude, and enjoyed watching her little girl swim and ride her bike.

Jennifer and her daughter, Maya, swimming.

When Jennifer’s breast cancer progressed and she couldn’t walk the 3-Day, she still wanted to show up to offer her support. One of her friends walked the 3-Day and Jennifer made sure she was at the finish line to congratulate her. That inspired Joyce to take the first steps they’d planned to walk together.

“Things appeared to be a little shaky, so I decided to do it myself. I signed up as a single walker but ended up joining the Powered by Optimism team. They embodied everything Jennifer stood for,” Joyce said. “I am still on that team to this day.”

Joyce has walked in 13 events across San Diego, Boston, Chicago and Denver. She carried the “Daughter” flag in her first 3-Day walk in 2014 with Jennifer watching nearby. A few weeks after Jennifer passed away in October 2015, Joyce completed the 3-Day in San Diego.

“That was the hardest walk. But the Pink Bubble community has been part of my healing process,” Joyce said. “They’ve really been there for me.”

Now 71, Joyce continues to walk in the San Diego 3-Day and hopes to inspire the next generation to join her. Walking alongside Joyce are her son and niece, other family members, friends and her granddaughter, Maya, who is almost 16.

Maya, who has served on the Youth Corps three times, will walk her first 3-Day this year.

“I know Jennifer would be standing on the sidelines cheering for us all, especially Maya. She would be so happy to see her daughter at the 3-Day,” Joyce said.

Joyce and her granddaughter, Maya, at the Susan G. Komen 3-Day in San Diego.

In honor of Jennifer’s 10-year anniversary, Joyce is setting her fundraising goal at $10,000 – the same amount Jennifer challenged her to raise in 2015.

“I told her that was a lot, but she said, ‘You can do it mom.’” Joyce recalled. “And that year I did. I managed to raise over $10,000. So, this year, I’m doing it again, for her.”