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

A Mother’s Journey from Breast Cancer to the 3-Day

Cecilia S. at the 3-Day with her family.

It’s been nearly five years since Cecilia S. was diagnosed with breast cancer at 34 while raising two young children. It became a journey that led her to the Susan G. Komen 3-Day®.

Now, she is approaching a milestone she has looked forward to since her diagnosis, one that has been defined by strength and hope.

“When they say, ‘you’re a survivor,’ it’s interesting because we have no other choice,” Cecilia said. “But what’s amazing is the connection you form with other women, because without that, breast cancer can feel very isolating.”

The Diagnosis

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cecilia encouraged her sister to get a mammogram after turning 40, despite many delaying preventative care. That same night, Cecilia performed a self-exam.

“I had recently finished breastfeeding, so my breasts were like pancakes. I felt a tiny pebble close to my armpit,” Cecilia said. “So, I went to see my doctor.”

At first, Cecilia thought it might be a clogged milk duct. But after a series of ultrasounds, a mammogram and a biopsy, she was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer. Genetic testing revealed she had the BRCA1 inherited gene mutation, which led to a pivot in her treatment plan, including a double mastectomy and 16 rounds of chemotherapy in 2022. She underwent reconstruction surgery on her 35th birthday.

Joining the Pink Bubble

Team Steps at the Susan G. Komen 3-Day.

Just a few months after her reconstruction surgery, Cecilia learned one of her colleagues — a 30-year breast cancer survivor — was training for the 3-Day with other co-workers.

“They invited me to train with them and told me they were walking in my name. I went and I was shocked at how easy it was to be around women who understood what I had been though,” Cecilia said. “That’s when I knew I wanted to do the 3-Day, too.”

Although Cecilia had lived in Texas since 2017, she and her husband signed up for the 2022 San Diego 3-Day just months after she completed treatment.

“I’m originally from California. I went to college at UC San Diego and all my family is in California. The 3-Day felt like a great way to bookend my journey,” Cecilia explained. “All of my family and friends who couldn’t be physically with me in Texas had the opportunity to be there to support me.”

Cecilia walked at her own pace during her first 3-Day, and with the encouragement of her husband, her teammates and support of the medical crew for her neuropathy pain, she walked every Komen mile as a first time walker. Despite the challenges, she said she was immediately “hooked” on the Pink Bubble. Since then, Cecilia has walked the 3-Day in Denver, San Diego and Dallas/Fort Worth, and this fall she will complete her sixth 3-Day.

Cecilia and her friends at the Susan G. Komen 3-Day.

The support and strength Cecilia found through the 3-Day inspired her to help other women facing breast cancer feel less alone.

“When I hear about other women diagnosed with breast cancer, I try to support them — even if it’s just a text reminding them, they aren’t alone,” Cecilia said. “I try to encourage friends and fellow breasties to join my 3-Day Team Steps because simply being there can restore hope. Standing alongside 30-and 40-year survivors is a powerful reminder that this journey doesn’t end with a diagnosis — it continues with strength, community and spreading awareness.”

Cecilia and Mary at the Susan G. Komen 3-day.

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

Heather’s Story: Honoring a Loved One on Memorial Mile

Heather Bryan walks in the San Diego 3-Day in memory of her cousin-in-law, Kelly.

There’s a one-mile stretch of the Susan G. Komen San Diego 3-Day® that’s especially bittersweet for Heather B.—Memorial Mile.

Memorial Mile is a powerful part of every 3-Day route where walkers pass signs honoring those who have died from breast cancer. Each sign features a person’s name and a photo, placed there by loved ones who are walking in their memory. It’s both beautiful and emotional, reminding walkers exactly why they’re participating.

For Heather, that mile carries a deeply personal meaning.

“That last mile on day two is the hardest mile for me,” Heather said. “It is difficult turning the corner and seeing Kelly’s picture there on Memorial Mile.”

Road to the 3-Day

In 2014, Heather set a personal goal to participate in 14 walking events as a way to prioritize her well-being.

Around the same time, her husband’s cousins, Kelly and her sister Tracy, were thinking about walking the 3-Day in Arizona. Although they didn’t end up walking that year, they joined Heather at another breast cancer event in Central Oregon.

Shortly before the event, Kelly had to undergo a biopsy after her doctor suspected breast cancer.

“I encouraged them both to come to the event still, and they did,” Heather said.

During the walk, Kelly connected with other participants and members of the breast cancer community. Just a few days later, she was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer.

After Kelly’s diagnosis, Heather set a new goal: she wanted to walk in the 2015 Seattle 3-Day the following year, in her honor. Even though Kelly couldn’t be there physically, she supported Heather every step of the way.

“Throughout the walk, she and I were exchanging text messages, and she was giving me words of encouragement,” Heather recalled.

Kelly responded well to treatment and then went into remission.

“I decided to come back to the 3-Day in 2021 and walk in San Diego when her cancer had come back and it wasn’t responding to treatment,” Heather explained. “She passed in August 2022.”

That November, Heather walked for the first time in memory of Kelly at the San Diego 3-Day. She has continued to walk in her memory and placed a sign for Kelly in the Memorial Mile in 2023 and 2025. She will do so again this year.

“It was really hard that first year when I saw her smile on the Memorial Mile sign,” Heather said. “But the support from the Pink Bubble is absolutely amazing.”

That experience deepened Heather’s sense of connection to everyone honored along that mile.

“These are people’s loved ones that others are walking for,” Heather said. “I make it a point when I’m walking into camp at night to say every person’s name on every sign and recognize every person that is there.”

Heather B. and supporters at the Susan G. Komen 3-Day

Walking for Many

This year, Heather will walk her sixth 3-Day in San Diego as “Team Kelly.” Over the years, her brother has joined, and she has walked alongside other friends she met at the 3-Day.

With every event, her passion for the Pink Bubble continues to grow.

So does the list of people she walks for.

“I carry a running list of names with me on all the 3-Days, whether they are survivors or they have passed away,” Heather said. “I want to honor every one of them.”

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