I am always excited to participate and to lead a team here in Portland, Oregon for the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure. (Team Haralee) Last year the race event had 48,000 participants. It is amazing to see a sea of white T-shirts dotted with pink T-shirts walking through the streets of downtown Portland.
Oregon has the second highest rate of breast cancer in the country. Only second to Washington State, our neighbor 10 miles north of downtown Portland. With such a high incidence, it is only appropriate that we should have such large race participation. Someone either knows some one touched by the disease or they themselves are a survivor.
My company, Haralee.Com, Cool Garments for Hot Women, donates a percentage of every sale to breast cancer research. This year I decided to step up my commitment to a cure for breast cancer, and became a trained volunteer speaker for the Komen Foundation. Since there is no cure yet, we can work on prevention. Today I had my first speaking engagement at a retirement residence.
I accompanied the local director of the Susan G Komen for the Cure, who also happens to be a 30 year survivor, diagnosed with breast cancer at age 30 after the birth of her second child. We spoke in front of about 50 people, residents, and staff. Some of the women were also 30 year survivors and some survivors less than one year. It was a real privilege to speak with these folks about early detection.
Have you had your yearly mammogram?
The 2 biggest factors for getting breast cancer are:
#1 Being a Woman, #2 Too many Birthdays!
Early detection may save your life.
Make plans to join your local Susan G Komen Race for the Cure.