Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Using my blog for the power of good...

Many of you who have been reading my story for a while know about my manager from Bath and Body Works who recently lost her battle with cancer. Her name was Lisa, and she was 30 years old when she died over a month ago. She was diagnosed with breast cancer several years before, out of the blue, with no family history of the disease. Her cancer ended up metastasizing to her bones (spine and hips), followed by her liver, and it was finally the cancer in her liver that took her young life.

I hate cancer.

Before I met the wonderful man who is now my husband, I dated another wonderful man named Bob. We dated for only a short time, but after our relationship ended, we remained friends and continued to work together during the summer in a local youth program. Bob died of leukemia in the summer of 2002. Originally, it was thought that he had pneumonia. By the time the truth was discovered, it was too late, and he lasted only four days after his diagnosis. He never even got to start chemotherapy.

Did I mention I hate cancer?

Various other people in my life have been affected by this disease, both people I know and people who are loved by people I know. Almost anyone you talk to knows one person, and sometimes many more, who has fought cancer. Many of these people win their fights. Not everyone is so fortunate.

My friends at Bath and Body Works and I are going to be walking in the Relay For Life at Lafayette College on June 15 and 16, 2007. Relay is an event where a team pledges to walk continuously for 24 hours to raise awareness about cancer and to raise funds for the American Cancer Society. We will have at least one person on the track for every moment of the 24 hours. I would expect that I will be taking some of the night shift now that I usually spend those hours working. In the year 2006, over 200 Relays were completed across the country, and over $19 million dollars was raised to fight this disease that I have come to hate.

If you would consider giving just a little to the cause, our team Lisa's Tribe can come a little closer to our goal of raising $5,000 for this wonderful cause. If you would think of donating even $5 through my personal page, I would love you forever. And you can specify that your donation is in someone's honor or memory. So how about it? Can you help us out?

If you don't want to give but can instead remember us on the day of the Relay and send us good vibes, that would help too. It will be an emotional event for us, as the loss of Lisa is so fresh. But we want to use our memory of her to do some good. Relay For Life...June 15 and 16...Lafayette College.

Thanks for your support!

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