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

Jessica’s Story: From Lifelong Komen Volunteer to Survivorship and Walking the 3-Day

Jessica P. and her two daughters at a Susan G. Komen event.

When Jessica P. participates in the Susan G. Komen Tampa Bay 3-Day® in 2027, she’ll walk with nearly three decades of connection to the Komen community. First as a teenage volunteer and now as a two-time breast cancer survivor.

A Lifelong Connection to Komen

Jessica became involved with Susan G. Komen® at just 14 years old while completing community service hours for the National Honor Society. What started as volunteer hours during high school evolved into something that would give her a deep sense of purpose.

“It was a really empowering place to be when I was young,” Jessica said. “I remember after volunteering at the West Palm Beach Race for the Cure events, my parents would pick me up and I would tell them about all of the inspiring stories I heard.”

Jessica continued volunteering with Komen in West Palm Beach, Florida, into adulthood. She got married, had a family and continued to participate in annual Komen events through volunteering and walking — often bringing her family along.

For years, she stayed closely connected to the mission that first inspired her as teenager.

Jessica P. and her baby at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure around the time of her breast cancer diagnosis.

When the Mission Became Personal

Then in 2019, the cause she had spent years supporting suddenly became extremely personal when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“I honestly didn’t think it would happen to me. I had a 5-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old daughter whom I immediately had to stop nursing when I was diagnosed,” Jessica said. “It was an added emotional and physical strain that nothing could have prepared me for.”

Just two years later, in 2021, Jessica was diagnosed with breast cancer for a second time. Her treatments included a double mastectomy, reconstruction surgeries, radiation therapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy due to surgery complications.

Finding Strength Through Community

Even during her most difficult moments, Jessica said she found strength in the women she had encountered within the Komen community over the years.

“Through volunteering for Komen, I had been around breast cancer for so many years and I saw the survivorship. I saw the women holding the signs that said 20-plus years, 30-plus years,” Jessica said. “So, if they could be strong enough, I knew I could do it, too.”

Jessica P. and her husband and daughters at a Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure event.

Giving Back

In September, Jessica will celebrate five years of survivorship.

Today, she continues to show up for Komen as a passionate fundraiser preparing for her first 3-Day. After spending decades hearing stories from participants and survivors, she understands firsthand the impact that every dollar raised can make.

“After I was diagnosed, it kind of flipped something inside of me,” Jessica said. “My almost 45-year-old self went back to being 14 or 15, remembering those stories and those women. It lit a fire inside me. I knew I had to help.”

Successful Tips for Fundraising

As Jessica reflects on the fundraising lessons she’s gathered over the years, her advice for fellow participants is simple but powerful:

Reach out to previous donors and always send a personal thank you.

Never underestimate the power of Facebook and social media to connect with potential donors and supporters.

Add a personal touch and share your story honestly.

Don’t be afraid to go out to your community and ask for a donation.

Use tools like QR codes to make donating simple and accessible.

Remember, every dollar counts.

Jessica has raised nearly $77,000 through her participation in Komen events. She hopes her story reminds others that every step, every story and every donation has the power to make a lasting impact.

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

Raising Awareness for Male Breast Cancer at the 3-Day

Jake Messier is living with metastatic breast cancer and is seen at chemotherapy.

Jake M.,54, is preparing to walk his first Susan G. Komen Boston 3-Day® with one goal in mind: to raise awareness that men can get breast cancer, too.

In 2023, Jake discovered a lump in his armpit while putting on deodorant.

“In the moment, I thought it was weird, but I went on with my day,” Jake said. “Guys aren’t taught that when we find a lump, we should tell somebody.”

He didn’t mention it until a routine physical months later.

“My primary care physician listed off about 10 things that it could be and none of them were breast cancer,” Jake recalled. “But I’m thankful he wanted to be ultra sure and sent me for an ultrasound and mammogram, and then that snowballed to a biopsy.”

Jake was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer—but he believes it was likely more advanced.

Jake Messier and his wife are preparing to walk in the Susan G. Komen Boston 3-Day.

“I know I was likely misdiagnosed stage 2 and was actually stage 3,” Jake explained. “Then about a year later when it traveled to my hip, that’s when it metastasized.”

Since then, he has undergone chemotherapy, a mastectomy, two additional surgeries and 10 weeks of radiation therapy. He also recently spent six weeks in a wheelchair after a hip biopsy.

From Diagnosis to Advocacy

Over the last two and a half years, Jake has turned his metastatic breast cancer (MBC) diagnosis into a personal mission.

“Breast cancer is still seen as the pink disease—a woman’s disease,” Jake said. “I’m hoping to try and change that through the advocacy I do and by walking in the Komen 3-Day.”

Through his TikTok account @theguywithstage4breastcancer, Jake shares his story to raise awareness and remind men to listen to their bodies and speak up when something doesn’t seem right.

“If I can make an impact with whatever time I left have,” he said. “I want it to be this: men can get breast cancer.”

Jake Messier takin a selfie at his chemotherapy appointment.

Putting the MEN in KOMEN

That mission is what’s driving Jake to walk in the Boston 3-Day this summer. With his team, Putting the MEN in KOMEN, he hopes to raise $10,000 and bring greater visibility to male breast cancer.

“The Boston 3-Day is a big event,” he said. “If people see me, a man, holding a sign that says men can get breast cancer too, and they remember that—that matters and that is huge.”

To register for the 3-Day, visit the3day.org.

Statements and opinions expressed are those of the individual and do not express the views or opinions of Susan G. Komen. This information is being provided for educational purposes only and is not to be construed as medical advice. Persons with breast cancer should consult their health care provider with specific questions or concerns about their treatment.