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Julie’s 3-Day Story: From Family History to Survivorship

Julie M. has walked in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for more than a decade.

For more than a decade, Julie M. walked the Susan G. Komen 3-Day® to honor the women in her family who had faced breast cancer. Then in 2023, she received a diagnosis of her own. 

Walking for Her Mom 

Julie first participated in the San Diego 3-Day in 2010, following her mother’s breast cancer diagnosis in 2007.  

“I would have walked sooner, but when my mom had cancer, I lived in Italy with my husband on his military tour,” Julie said. “When I started, my mom walked with me a few times, and I have done it ever since.” 

Julie M. started walking in the 3-Day after her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Over the years, the 3-Day has become a major part of Julie’s life. She has participated in 22 events, and for the past seven years she has served as captain of Team Viva Las Boobies.  

“The 3-Day has been a life-changing experience for me because of the camaraderie, the sisterhood. It’s phenomenal,” Julie said. “The people I walk with … we just walked this morning. We walk year-round and we have just become such lifelong friends.” 

Worst News Ever 

For much of her adult life, Julie M. lived with the expectation that one day she might come face to face with breast cancer. 

“I’ve been getting mammograms since I was in my 30s,” Julie said. “My mom, my granny and my aunties all had breast cancer.”  

Determined to stay vigilant, Julie alternated between mammograms and breast MRIs every six months.  

In early 2023, Julie had a routine MRI that came back with clear results. The next month, she missed a scheduled mammogram because she was dealing with vertigo. Then, when she went in for the mammogram about one month later, she was called back for additional imaging. She had a gut feeling that something was wrong. 

Julie and her family during her breast cancer journey.

At age 53, Julie was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer. At the time, some of Julie’s family members were in San Diego visiting from Scotland. And both of her daughters were busy preparing for their final college exams. So, she waited before delivering the news to her family.   

When the time came, Julie and her husband called both of their daughters and told them together.   

“It was harder to tell my daughters than it was to tell anyone else. They were 20 and 22 when I was diagnosed,” Julie recalled,. “The first thing they said was, ‘Worst news ever.’” 

Julie’s daughters and husband were a great source of support as she recovered from surgery. Just a few months later, Julie walked the Boston 3-Day and then returned home to San Diego to begin radiation therapy. 

Leaning on the Pink Bubble 

Team Viva Las Boobies at the Komen 3-Day.

Throughout her diagnosis and treatment, Julie also leaned on the friendships she had built through the 3-Day. 

“The Pink Bubble is a real thing. It’s truly an amazing connection that you make with people that you would never cross paths with any other way,” Julie said.  

Julie said she was grateful to be able to reach out to fellow 3-Day walkers and survivors for advice and strength.  

“I was able to reach out to so many people, and they shared recommendations for surgeons, what to expect from treatment paths and their experiences,” Julies said. “It was a wealth of information from teammates and so many people who had been there before.” 

This year, Julie is celebrating nearly two years of breast cancer survivorship and will walk in the San Diego 3-Day in November. Her advice to those who are newly diagnosed is: “Don’t let breast cancer get you down or swallow you up. Keep moving forward, because you can still come out on the other side and live your best life.” 

Julie an her team, Viva Las Boobies, in New York City.

To learn more about the 3-Day visit the3day.org

The Power Behind Every 3-Day Donation

An embrace at the Susan G. Komen 3-Day

When you donate to the Susan G. Komen 3-Day®, you might wonder where your dollars go. With every donation, they embark on a powerful journey, one that brings hope where there is uncertainty, comfort where there is fear and progress where there is urgent need.  

Every dollar raised through the 3-Day could become the research breakthrough that leads to lifesaving treatment. From a call to the Patient Care Center at just the right moment to financial help that aids a patient in getting to chemotherapy to advocating for state and federal policy change to ensure all people have affordable access to the care they need – every dollar carries the weight of possibility. 

Read more at Komen.org. 

Where Your Dollars Go 

  • $25 helps scientists find new ways to prevent, detect and treat breast cancer. 
  • $100 provides emotional support, breast health information and educational resources for one person through our Patient Care Center navigators. 
  • $150 pays for one week of groceries for a person undergoing treatment. 
  • $400 supports an early-career scientist for a day as they develop breakthroughs for aggressive and deadly cancers. 

Your generosity can drive research, provide assistance and make a tangible difference in the lives of those impacted by breast cancer.  Every contribution, no matter the amount, moves us closer to a world without breast cancer. 

Cathy’s 20-Year Journey With the 3-Day

Cathy M. and her friend, Benny, who met at the Komen 3-Day in 2004.

Cathy M. has been part of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day® for more than 20 years and still shows up each November ready to walk all 60 miles. 

She has collected the names of 180 people impacted by breast cancer — names she now wears on a pink cape as she walks. 

“The names are of people diagnosed with breast cancer, those we have lost and the names of inspiring survivors,” Cathy said. “I walk for them. The real heroes.” 

Cathy first discovered the 3-Day while sitting at a traffic light in Southern California, where she watched a sea of walkers moving down the coast. Something about that moment stuck with her. Even though she didn’t yet have a personal connection to breast cancer, she felt drawn to be a part of it. 

Cathy M. wears a pink cape that has names of people impacted by breast cancer.

Years later, that connection became deeply personal when her sister was diagnosed with breast cancer, and Cathy wanted to offer her support. 

“My sister didn’t even tell us about her cancer until after her surgery,” Cathy said. “After that, I got my rear off the couch and signed up.” 

Cathy walked her first 3-Day in 2003 in San Diego at the age of 51 and hasn’t missed a year since.  

Since then, she’s become a resource for “newbies” taking on the Komen 3-Day, even writing her own survival guide — playfully titled 60-Mile Walk Survival Guide From an Old Lady Walking — to pass along advice based on her experience. She shares it for free on Facebook. 

“I like to think I get smarter with each event under my feet,” Cathy said with a smile. “The guide is just what has worked for me and my hope is that something in there could help the new walkers.”   

Cathy M. and her team walking the San Diego 3-Team during the 2010 rainstorm.

While Cathy has never had breast cancer, she said she has spent years reflecting on what keeps her coming back to the 3-Day. 

“It just puts life in perspective,” Cathy said. “It grounds me and reconnects me to the Pink Bubble. The people, the atmosphere, it’s so positive. I love meeting everyone and hearing their stories. It really is more than just a walk.” 

When she’s not walking in the 3-Day, Cathy is a caregiver to her 103-year-old mother in Boise, Idaho, a role that reflects the same strength and compassion she brings to the walk every year. Her sister, Terry, is a more than 20-year breast cancer survivor, and Cathy continues to walk in her honor. 

Cathy also shares her 3-Day experiences through a personal blog and has written a book inspired by her journey in the Pink Bubble. For Cathy, the 3-Day is more than an event, it’s a lifelong connection to the people and stories that continue to guide her steps.