The 3-Day is more than just a walk for Marilyn, it’s a profound way for her to be of SERVICE

Continuing our “Word of the Year” series, this month Marilyn shares her story, and how the 3-Day represents a form of SERVICE to her. Marilyn’s taking her commitment to service seriously, participating in 24 3-Day events over the years, and joining us for the 3-Day this year.

Tell me about your 3-Day experience.

I started my journey in 2011 in Philadelphia knowing almost nothing about Susan G. Komen’s mission. I was simply walking 60 miles because a girlfriend asked me to walk with her. I was hooked after that first walk! Then I went on to walk in Tampa Bay with my daughter-in-law and then again and again and again…all across the country, doing numerous walks each year (in 2017, I did all 7!). I have now completed 24 3-Days. I am signed up to walk and am fully-funded for the 2021 3-Day in San Diego.

What is your 2021 word of the year?

My word for 2021 is SERVICE.

Why is that your word of the year?

I have learned over the years that my soul sings happiness when I am doing things to be of service to others. I know that when I am helping others, love and kindness spreads exponentially. For instance, I am part of a group that provides Christmas bags for 200 less fortunate women in our area each year. Naturally, it helps the women for whom we get to do this service; it also helps each of us remember how blessed we are and that we are able to joyously share our bounties. And it also is a wonderful connecting project for the women around the country who send a bounty of love and products to help fill the bags. The friends I’ve met through Komen and the 3-Day are unbelievably generous.

Also, by being a mentor to other women in the addiction community, I have the ability to see women grow and flourish and then watch them mentor others. We all give and receive constantly.

Why do you participate in the 3-Day?

I participate in the 3-Day because, as a breast cancer survivor (along with surviving facial melanoma and uterine cancer), I must give back to the community of those ahead of me who made the research possible for new and improved methods of treating this disease that saved my life and millions of others. I must be part of an organization that continues to fund researchers to find the cure, and that helps in communities across the country with the everyday struggle for people finding their way after they have heard those crushing words “You have cancer.”

What does the 3-Day family mean to you?

The women and men I have met along the way over these past 11 years have become my second heartbeat. I have never ever collectively met such a caring, loving, hilarious, energetic, service-oriented, superior group of people! My Komen friends motivate me to do more and do better.

How does your word of the year connect to the 3-Day?

It is a blessing and an honor to do the service work of raising money for Susan G. Komen. To know that we are doing so much for so many people is awe-inspiring. To know that my grandchildren’s children may hear that their great-grandmother had breast cancer and ask, “what’s that?” is enough to keep me going long into my next decade.

By my walking these walks and walking all the training walks I do (I walked 2,020 miles in 2020 and I will do another 2,021 in 2021), more women have joined me on the 3-Day and they get to be of service. It just keeps getting better. I will admit that my age inspires younger people to get involved as they say, “Well, if she can do it, I can do it!”

If you could share a message with the Pink Bubble, what would it be?

Be kind. Be loving. Be of service. The world will become a better place and you will be part of the solution.

We want to know: How are you of SERVICE in your community? Check back next month for the next blog post in our “Word of the Year” series.

Bev D. finds ways to be GRATEFUL, both in her life and for her Pink Bubble family

Next up in our “Word of the Year” series, this month Bev D. shares how she has been able to remain GRATEFUL, despite whatever challenges the past year has presented. She joined the 3-Day in 2011 to walk it once, and 15 3-Days later—she’s still here! The spirit of the pink bubble family keeps her coming back.

Tell me about your 3-Day experience.
I’ve participated in so many events since 2011, it’s hard to count…I think I am at 15!

What is your 2021 word of the year?
My word of the year is GRATEFUL.

Why is that your word of the year?
Even though 2020 was an awful year for the world, I am grateful because I was still able to spend time with my “pod” of friends and family. We hiked and went to the beach, and we were grateful we were able to do things like that. ALSO, my daughter had a baby girl! Baby Pearl Rhiannon was born on Thanksgiving Day. They spent the whole pregnancy quarantined and everyone is healthy and beautiful. She is my first grandchild and I am enormously grateful for her.

Why do you participate in the 3-Day?
My mom had breast cancer, which was the reason I walked the first year. I honestly thought it would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience: “one and done” as they say (LOL) but like many of us, that is NEVER the case. The pink bubble became my family and forever friends and I love you all!

What does the 3-Day family mean to you?
The 3-Day family is the family I chose. They mean the world to me! I feel safe and loved and part of a special community that the outside world can never understand unless they join “the bubble.”

How does your word of the year connect to the 3-Day?
I am grateful not only for the things in my life, but for my 3-Day family, too. My 3-Day friends are in my bubble that I stay in and travel with. I have so many friends near and far that I call family who I know I can always depend on to be there! They have enriched my life ten-fold.

If you could share a message with the Pink Bubble, what would it be?
I am so grateful for my pink family that is close by, for always being here. I am grateful for the pink family from afar, for keeping us connected to each other in so many ways. We’ve had virtual walks, sent cards to each other, and have always been there to offer prayers when needed.

My symbol for my mom is a ladybug and there have been so many times when someone randomly will send me a text to tell me that they saw my “mom” in their office, in the park, on the sidewalk, in their house. And it always comes at a time when I just needed to hear it!

We want to know: What are you GRATEFUL for? Check back next month for the next blog post in our “Word of the Year” series.

The Four Words That Changed My Life

By Beth B.

Beth B. at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure®

I never get tired of telling my story. Four words.

It all started on October 26, 2011 —10 days after my 30th high school reunion. I went for my annual exam. Ten minutes into the visit, my gynecologist said, “You have a lump.” Four words. Thirty minutes later, I was having a mammogram a month before my regularly scheduled one and an ultrasound. An hour later, the technician took me into a room and put me on the phone with my doctor, who said, “We found something suspicious.” Four words. They told me to find a surgeon and schedule a biopsy as soon as possible. Six days later, I had a biopsy, and on November 4, 2011, my world turned upside down. I was 48 years old when I heard “You have breast cancer.” Four words.

Part of my story involves how and where I received my diagnosis. I am a lobbyist for a financial services company, and the day after my biopsy, I traveled to Washington, D.C., on a business trip. As every cancer patient knows, the thing that you crave the most is normalcy. While I didn’t yet know that I was a cancer patient, I craved normalcy. The thought of sitting at home and waiting for the results was unbearable to me. I was in a meeting room with about 75 people when my cellphone started ringing, and I could see it was the surgeon’s office. I made it out to the lobby where the diagnosis was delivered. It was as if all the air had left the building. All I wanted to do was to get back to my room to call my Mom. I held it together until she picked up the phone, and I burst into tears. I felt like a child who falls off her bike and doesn’t cry until she gets home and runs straight into her mother’s arms.

I was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma, stage 2B. I had a lumpectomy a week before Thanksgiving in 2011. My margins were not clean, and I had node involvement. I chose to have a single mastectomy with immediate reconstruction, and I have never regretted that decision. The surgery was four days before Christmas. I had eight rounds of chemo. I lost all of my hair and started reconstruction during chemo. I finished treatment on May 2, 2012 and had reconstructive surgery later that summer with the final surgery that fall. I am currently taking Letrozole after five years of Tamoxifen. I still have neuropathy in my feet, but it is gone from my hands. Now my four words are “You are a survivor.”

I have met the most incredible people on this journey. I am proud to be a survivor, and I feel blessed every day. My fellow survivor thrivers are the bravest people I have ever met. They give me hope and courage every day. I hit the 9-year survivorship mark last November. Some days, it feels like yesterday, and other days, it feels like a lifetime ago. Some days, I scratch and claw my way through, but most days I just feel incredibly lucky.

We must continue to fund the research that will eventually eradicate this monster. Together we can, and will, lift the veil on this horrendous disease. Together, we are stronger than cancer. Life changes in an instant. I really have no other words. I will NEVER stop telling my story and I will NEVER stop fighting for a cure.

Here are my final four words to you — GO LIVE YOUR LIFE!