One Face, One Voice: Kim Crist’s Metastatic Breast Cancer Story

Guest Post By: Kim Crist

After I finished treatment for early stage breast cancer, I never considered that I was in remission. I told everyone I was cured. The doctors told me after four months of chemotherapy and 40 rounds of radiation that I would be just fine. It took me a long time to really believe that I was going to be okay. For years, I couldn’t drive by my oncologist’s office without having that “sick to my stomach, I had just had chemo” feeling. But the nauseating fears were finally gone when I hit the five-year mark. I remember driving by my doctor’s office and realized I didn’t think about my cancer. I had finally let go of my fears and realized I really did beat this.

It turns out there is no way to know if you have a cancer cell tucked away. It was almost 10 years after my first diagnosis that I was diagnosed with Metastatic, or stage four, disease. They say if you go five or 10 years, you’ve beat it… I thought I was home free. Not one doctor told me the true statistics for recurrence. If I had known, maybe I would have been more diligent in taking my estrogen blocker. Maybe I would have done more research at the time. Perhaps I would have known what symptoms to look out for. The maybes, the what ifs take a toll.

Funny thing is, I thought I was taking care of myself. I worked out and lifted weights, I took exercise classes. I even thought I was doing too much because on two separate occasions I ended up in the ER with crippling back pain. I had to actually leave during the middle of a workout class. Each time being sent home with pain meds and muscle relaxers. Not one doctor asked about a cancer history.

It wasn’t until a routine yearly blood work and oncologist visit to get my mammogram prescription that my doctor saw a rise in my tumor markers…the results you have figured out. What does this diagnosis mean; Metastatic Breast Cancer?? As far as I’m concerned Metastatic disease is a polite way of saying you have stage IV cancer. Stage IV?? We get it now. At least one would think so.

I believe Susan G. Komen is a wonderful platform. We have so much information to share and research left to be done. Walking and raising money allows me to share my story and hopefully teach someone else what to look out for and what questions to ask. Why didn’t those doctors know to ask if I had a history of cancer? Why didn’t I know that bones are the most likely place for initial metastasis? Why didn’t I think to, or better yet, why didn’t I know to ask for an MRI over an X-ray? X-rays don’t show cancer. This is important information that I wish I had known and needs to be shared.

“We need to laugh. We need to laugh at ourselves”

Now, people ask me, “Are you in remission? You’ll be cured, right? Are you done with your medicine?” The answer? No, no and no. They ask, things like, “how long will your medicine work?” Until it doesn’t. Then I’ll find another drug. All in hopes of going another three months praying and stressing that the next scan is stable. I can live with it in my bones, I dread the day it attacks my organs.

Right now, there is no time for being sick and no time for stinky thinking. No time for rest. Now is the time for faith and giving back. Being a Susan G. Komen walker and super supporter has given me an opportunity to talk to people from all over the country. The 3-Day brings together a large community of fighters, survivors and the surviving.

As a 14-year walker I’ve not only seen the impact we have made in research, but I’m living proof. Coming up on five years, I would have never thought I’d have the quality of life that I do. My bones are weakened by the cancer slowly eating away at it, but now there is a simple shot I take every quarter to keep me strong. My freedom and quality come from not being stuck in a chemo chair. Breakthroughs have happened!! But we have to keep working.

“It’s important to keep your strength and be out in nature”

Thank you, Susan G. Komen, thank you fellow supporters, sponsors and researchers. This walker will never give up and I will never give in.

Learn more about Metastatic Breast Cancer. If you or a loved one has questions or needs support, please call 1-877-GO KOMEN.

Official Sponsor of the 3-Day®

3-Day Philadelphia Route Preview

We can’t believe it’s already October! That means it’s time to head to the East Coast for our Philly 3-Day. It’s going to be an amazing three days of walking, having fun, and making memories. Our 3-Day team can’t wait to host our walkers, crew, volunteers and supporters for a wonderful weekend together! But, before you pack your bags, Event Manager Melanie Toner is giving us a sneak peak of what to expect.

“We’re thrilled to bring back much of the route that people loved last year,” Melanie enthuses. “We’ve tried hard to continue to highlight new areas of the city, so you can see different parts of Philadelphia each day. If you loved last year’s route, you will be happy again this year.”

We will once again begin our journey with our Opening Ceremony at our hotel camp, the Hilton Philadelphia at Penn’s Landing. We are so excited to be back at the location that was so lovely to our 3-Dayers last year.

Plus, as Melanie reminded us, “The hotel is right on the water, so it’s really beautiful!”

After the Opening Ceremony, walkers will head west across the city through historic areas of Philadelphia to University City. We will go through Rittenhouse Square early in the day, which Melanie promises is gorgeous!

Other highlights are the “Please Touch” Museum and an amazing cheering station at Smith Memorial Playground. The afternoon will also include a walk along the picturesque Concourse Lake Trail, which also has its own cheering station.

At the end of the day, walkers will return to our 3-Day hotel camp at the Hilton Philadelphia at Penn’s Landing. Camp is indoors again this year, and the extra comfort that provides will be the perfect end to both Friday and Saturday’s walks. Melanie is also glad for the comfort of the hotel, given that Philadelphia’s weather can be a little unpredictable in the fall.

“We are putting out good vibes to Mother Nature for continued good weather! But, just in case, we are glad to be able to offer a comfy hotel bed to keep you warm, dry and well rested again in 2019.”

There will be lots of similar sights to those in years past on Day Two, including a stop at the Liberty Bell within the first mile of the day. There will also be tons of community support out on the route, including a cheering station at the Gillin Boathouse.

We will also be stopping right in front of the Philly Museum of Art. That means you can celebrate Saturday with a photo op at the Rocky statue! The Philadelphia Zoo is also once again supporting 3-Dayers on Day Two. You can also expect some surprises throughout the weekend to make this weekend extra fun!

And then Sunday will be here before you know it! There will be some changes to the Day Three route due to our new closing site on Shoemaker Green at the University of Pennsylvania. Melanie can’t wait to make the most of this new ending location.

“I love it because it’s such an intimate and beautiful site where we can all gather together. The space will make it feel like more of a celebration as we wrap up the event as one community. Plus, it’s at the University of Pennsylvania, and two of the grantees who have benefited from the 3-Day’s fundraising dollars are right in that area as well. The University of Pennsylvania and the Wistar Institute are both Komen grantees, so we are honored to be able to celebrate right next door to those amazing institutions.”

But even with the changes, we will still have all the highlights you know and love, including views of Independence Hall and a cheering station along Broad Street that will put a big Day Three smile on the faces of our walkers. There will also be cheesesteaks at Pat & Geno’s, a walk along the Italian Market and more.

Melanie says, “You will still have all your Philly favorites, just in a different order. We really tried to keep all the elements that our walkers have come to expect and love to see!”

After Pat & Geno’s we will head back north towards the University of Pennsylvania for our Finish Line Festival and Closing Ceremony, where we will be celebrating three glorious days, and 60 difference-making miles under the Philadelphia sun!

Melanie encourages our Philadelphia 3-Dayers to soak in every moment of the weekend ahead and can’t wait to welcome you all to the City of Brotherly Love.

“I want everyone to feel proud of what we have done here. I was the first Philadelphia staff member hired back in 2004, and it has been so amazing to see this walk come full circle this year. I feel so much pride and I want all our participants to feel that way, too. We have given people hope and inspiration at a time in their lives that could have been very dark. We have worked so hard and we have so much to be proud of. We can not thank the people and city of Philadelphia enough.”

Congratulations to the 2019 Seattle 3-Day Local Impact Award Winner, Penny Kellam

For the 2019 Susan G. Komen 3-Day® season, we’re pleased to be continuing the Local Impact Award. This award is being given to participants who have been instrumental in strengthening the 3-Day® community throughout the year. Local Impact Award honorees have gone above and beyond in their efforts leading training walks, attending 3-Day community events, supporting the 3-Day staff year-round at meet-ups and workshops, and in general, making a difference by building lasting relationships and showing commitment to the 3-Day in all they do.

Please join us in congratulating the 2019 Seattle 3-Day Local Impact Award Winner, Penny Kellam!

The amount of love for Penny on the Seattle 3-Day is unparalleled, and her team Kindred Spirits teammates could not stop gushing about her.

Teammate Denise Stark says, “Penny to me epitomizes the 3-Day in our community. She has rallied people and support to fight breast cancer through Susan G. Komen from all walks of life. She’s what I would describe as an influencer and a networker, connecting people and organizations with the cause and with each other that might otherwise have never connected. I would not be involved with the 3-Day today had it not been for a random meeting through the run she organizes every year to raise funds for the 3-Day. I can’t think of anyone who has done more to inspire and to deserve the Local Impact award than Penny.”

Kris Lambright, another one of Penny’s teammates, echoes those feelings.

“Penny is an amazing team captain! She makes sure that all teammates get help if needed to be fully funded, she makes sure you are prepared to walk (not just trained but with packing tips, Thursday team dinner, Thursday night hotel, etc.), and she has made the team into a family that supports each other not only on the walk but throughout the year. She also emphasizes the importance of kindness during the 3-Day – to other walkers, crew, and supporters. She basically just embodies our team name of Kindred Spirits.”

Then, we heard about Penny’s 3-Day love and dedication, right from Penny herself!

What was your inspiration to do your first 3-Day?

I was diagnosed with cervical and uterine cancer in late 1999. At the time I was given a 24% chance of survival. The uterine cancer was posed to take me out, but I was blessed with an amazing team of professionals that had a plan, listened me (and my gut instincts) and developed and adjusted a plan that respected my needs and brought me through. We made decisions together that might not work for everyone but that worked for me. The absolute worst moment of my entire cancer journey was sharing my diagnosis with my sons – 13 & 15 at time. No parent should ever see the ragged fear in their child’s eyes that too many of us have witnessed.

What has brought you back to the 3-Day year after year?

That first year I walked for myself. It was all about my journey and my need to draw a line in the sand between cancer patient and cancer survivor. It was selfish but necessary. No apologies here.

That said that first walk was supposed to be a one and done…but something changed on Day 2. I was walking alone after putting a teammate on a Sweep Van. I was walking as fast as I could to move through the walkers to where I knew I knew a couple of my teammates were walking ahead. I went to pass “on the left” of a pair of young gals – in their 20’s, wearing matching shirts with “For the Love of Josie” on the back. One of them carried a pair of worn tennis shoes with a brand new sparkly angel – and I knew my heart couldn’t stand to ask. I’d been crying for two days and I thought I was spent. But the universe had other ideas. The person behind me asked about Josie. And I listened. It turned out that Josie was Mom to one of these young girls. She had trained and fundraised and planned to walk with these best friends. They carried her training shoes because Josie had passed two weeks before but they couldn’t walk without her. I cried for the next two miles. Seriously cried. Because in that split second I had the vision of my boys walking with my face on their shirts and my shoes slung across their shoulder. And nothing about that was okay.

Then I saw the big picture. I suddenly understood how absence of one of us throws ripples into the pond that never end. I had no choice but to sign up again…and again…and again. This year I’m walking New England (#34), Seattle (#35) and San Diego (#36) where my husband will join me as a first-time walker.

What is the secret to your 3-Day fundraising success?

Ask everybody and then ask them again. Do not take the opportunity away from someone to support this important work by deciding for them that they aren’t interested in or capable of helping. You have no idea how this monster may have affected them or their family or their friends. I have too many personal stories of times when I hesitated to ask but finally took the plunge only to be overwhelmed by connections I didn’t know about and the absolute generosity of people I had thought unable to financially support this cause. Ask everybody!!

What is your best advice to anyone walking the 3-Day?

Enjoy the journey. There is something uniquely special about the people that step outside their personal comfort zone to do something this bold and challenging. Talk to everybody. Really talk to them. You’ll hear stories that you’ll never forget. You’ll enrich your 3-Day experience with every conversation. Stop and hug that survivor on the side of the road. Talk to the littles that come out to cheer you on. Don’t rush through everything looking at your feet. Consciously make the effort to look up and connect.

What’s a fun fact about you?

I spent the first seven years of my life as a proud resident of North Pole, Alaska. Santa Claus lived just down the highway from me, I routinely fell asleep to the crackle of the Northern Lights and we had a momma moose that would bring her calves to winter in the protection of the “L” formed by our house – all of which I thought was perfectly normal until I moved down to Washington State just before high school.

What are the most important lessons you’ve learned on the 3-Day?

Kindness is everything.
We can do the hard things – especially when we think we can’t.
Family comes from many different places and only some of them may share your bloodline.
There are a lot of things in this world that I cannot change but I can talk and walk and organize and motivate and until cancer is a footnote in the history books you can expect to find me doing all of those things to speed along the end of this monster.