A Blast from the Past!

This is from Beth's and my 1st 60 mile walk when it was the Avon 3-day...

We walked from Bear Mountain to NYC.

It was an amazing experience!

(You never forget the 1st time ...'eh?)

...

My vacation is over.

It's back to school tomorrow.

I didn't train this week, although I could have.

The temperature is rising a bit and I could have taken a quick walk around town.
I'll start soon.  Promise!

I did, however, have my mammography and breast sonogram.

There are some questions regarding the mammography and it's reliability ... especially for breast cancer survivors ... but I'll continue to "submit to the squeeze" for early detection:

Here's what the National Cancer Institute has to say:

Getting a high-quality screening mammogram and having a clinical breast exam (an exam done by a health care provider) on a regular basis are the most effective ways to detect breast cancer early. 

So ... if you're over 40 and you're due ...
just do it!


...

New Blog design ... what do you think?

Hey y'all ... join our team!!!

 It's official.

Our team is up and ... uh ... walking?!

If you are thinking you would like to give this 3-day thing a try ... as a walker or as crew ... why don't ya'll come to Atlanta and join our team.

Click on the picture of me on the HOG  at the right and find "join Roberta's team" on my page ... one click ... a few answers ... a registration fee (and a $25 discount if you register in February) and you're a PINK SLIP(PER) ...
It's as easy as that!

And here's what we have to say about Breast Cancer:

BREAST CANCER - YOU'RE FIRED!
We are team PINK SLIPS, and we are so ready to give breast cancer the boot. Or in this case, the sneaker.

We PINK SLIPS have come from coast to coast, from New York to California and places in between, and we've joined together to step out as one, united in the battle against breast cancer. 

Don't feel like joining team Pink Slips?  
You can make a donation!
I'll walk FOR you!
(And I'll walk all 60 miles ... it's a PROMISE!)  

Elaine

I received this email from a walker friend:

Elaine's husband, Steve,  called to let me know that Elaine passed away on Saturday night.  He asked that I let all her 3Day friends know.

I met Elaine on a training walk in the spring.

I took to her immediately.
She had so much energy ... and she was FUN!

She told me that she had had the flu ... and wasn't feeling 100%.

The next time I heard from Elaine ... it was in a message from "Caring Bridge."

It was not the flu.
Elaine had Leukemia.

Her posts on the "Caring Bridge" blog were almost always funny and upbeat.

We, her readers, were encouraged by her positive attitude.

Elaine met us (Burt's Babes) during the summer ... anxious to cross the Brooklyn Bridge with us.  

She couldn't do it.  She was too weak.

She told me that she knew that she wouldn't survive the cancer.

I didn't want to ... but I believed her.

She had the same Leukemia that took my friend Lisa last year.

And so ... she's gone.

But that wonderful, strong, smart, funny woman will always be in my heart.

Elaine Shapiro

And our team name is ....

pink slips!
(breast cancer ... YOU'RE FIRED!)

It took a while to make a decision ... but the team page has been set up and we're good to go.

Last year I LOVED those tutu wearing walkers ... so, in honor of our team, I'm thinking this might be a good look for me:

 

What do you think Sarge?

What's your name ... little girls ...

Just got home from dinner with some of the girls from Provincetown.

Here are Beth, Faye, and me. (or is that "I?")

We walked together in San Francisco as "Jersey Girls for Shore" and now we're walking again in Atlanta.

We have been working on a name for our team.

No boobies ... no hooters... no breasts (sorry Sarge.)

Because we met in P-town ... we thought of P-inkTown (Ladies?)

We also thought of "Pink Slips (giving breast cancer the boot!)" 

There have been a few other suggestions.

What do you think?

(Think in pink!)

We are only three walkers on the team ... so we have to be a little more generic than "Jersey Girls" or "Blogger Babes"

...

Thank you Barbie Lou and Richard for supporting me.

I'm on my way.

(Oh ... I saw Mochy ... my first supporter ... tonight.  I thank you again Mochy.  You're Mochalicious!)

My favorite picture from my San Francisco 3 day adventure ...

Did I show you this one, readers (Bee and Sarge)?

This is my favorite picture from the last 3-day!

I was getting ready to take a picture of my teammates when I saw the looks on their faces.  They were looking at a GIANT San Francisco hill we were about to climb.

Look at their expressions!

Boy howdy ... it was some climb up that one.

I think Thumper was half way up the hill when I took this.  I had run up ahead of her ... then I ran back down the hill ... then I ran back up to the top.

Yeah ... that's how it happened.

That's EXACTLY how it happened.

...

It reached into the 50s today.  Perfect walking weather ... if I wasn't in school  Next week is vacation ... maybe I'll get a little training in.

Keep Them Doggies Rollin'

I really should get my doggies rollin' again.  

 Not this doggie ... (a service dog who walked part of the 60 miles in SF)

These doggies!

(I remember this moment ... my dogs were sore!)

I'll be shopping for new shoes soon.  My New Balance style has been DISCONTINUED ... which disturbs me.  Maybe I can find something PINK this time around. 

It's getting a tiny bit warmer here... and there are actually sidewalks showing in some parts of Port Washington!

I promise I'll get my doggies rollin' soon!

A few pictures from San Francisco

Dear Readers (Bee and Sarge ...)

You never commented on the picture in the right sidebar.

It was one of the highlights of my trip to San Francisco.

Here I am with the biker, himself ...

Please note the pink bra.  What a hoot ... or ... what a hooter. (duhr!)

What do you have to say about this, readers?

Another breast cancer story?

I had my yearly physical this afternoon.  My lovely young doctor entered the room wearing a wig.  She asked me about the walk and if I will be doing another walk this year.  She asked me why I walk.  She was a little upset that I did not have my mammogram in October. (I'm having it in 2 weeks, thank you very much.) "You know the statistics" she said.
She didn't say anything about her health ... and it wasn't my place to ask.  But all her questions made me wonder ... is this another breast cancer story?
If it is ... I will add her name to the growing list of women for whom I walk.
Here are the statistics ... one more time:

• About 1 in 8 women in the United States (12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.
•  
• In 2010, an estimated 207,090 new cases of invasive breast cancer were expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 54,010 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer.
•  
• About 1,970 new cases of invasive breast cancer were expected to be diagnosed in men in 2010. Less than 1% of all new breast cancer cases occur in men.
• From 1999 to 2006, breast cancer incidence rates in the U.S. decreased by about 2% per year. One theory is that this decrease was partially due to the reduced use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) by women after the results of a large study called the Women’s Health Initiative were published in 2002. These results suggested a connection between HRT and increased breast cancer risk.
•  
• About 39,840 women in the U.S. were expected to die in 2010 from breast cancer, though death rates have been decreasing since 1990. These decreases are thought to be the result of treatment advances, earlier detection through screening, and increased awareness.
•  
• For women in the U.S., breast cancer death rates are higher than those for any other cancer, besides lung cancer.
•  
• Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among U.S. women. More than 1 in 4 cancers in women (about 28%) are breast cancer.
•  
• Compared to African American women, white women are slightly more likely to develop breast cancer, but less likely to die of it. One possible reason is that African American women tend to have more aggressive tumors, although why this is the case is not known. Women of other ethnic backgrounds — Asian, Hispanic, and Native American — have a lower risk of developing and dying from breast cancer than white women and African American women.
•  
• In 2010, there were more than 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S.
•  
• A woman’s risk of breast cancer approximately doubles if she has a first-degree relative (mother, sister, daughter) who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. About 20-30% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have a family history of breast cancer.
•  
• About 5-10% of breast cancers can be linked to gene mutations (abnormal changes) inherited from one’s mother or father. Mutations of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are the most common. Women with these mutations have up to an 80% risk of developing breast cancer during their lifetime, and they are more likely to be diagnosed at a younger age (before menopause). An increased ovarian cancer risk is also associated with these genetic mutations. In men, about 1 in 10 breast cancers are believed to be due to BRCA2 mutations and even fewer cases to BRCA1 mutations.
•  
• About 70-80% of breast cancers occur in women who have no family history of breast cancer. These occur due to genetic abnormalities that happen as a result of the aging process and life in general, rather than inherited mutations.
•  
• The most significant risk factors for breast cancer are gender (being a woman) and age (growing old)