02/14/2006

2006
This summer you will again find me walking to help raise funding and awareness around breast cancer. This is year number six and I’m looking forward to walks number ten and eleven. That’s a lot of miles, a lot of fundraising, a lot of time and energy. So why keep doing this? I’ve struggled to find the words to explain why I must do this again so I’m going to borrow words from songwriters Phil & Julie Vassar to try to help you understand why once again you are finding this letter in your mailbox.

Why We Walk
There’s an empty chair at the dinner table
Where a mother used to sit.
She was 34 years old, full of life and dreams
And two small kids.
There’s a young man with a tear in his eye and a pink ribbon on his coat
In memory of the only love he’d every known.

There’s a lady looking in the mirror without a single strand of hair.
She barely recognizes the woman standing there.
She’s waging a silent war again an enemy inside
And putting up the fight of her life.

That’s why we walk.
We walk to remember.
We walk to celebrate.
That’s why we walk.
Leaning on each other
And holding on to faith.
For those that are gone and those who live on,
We honor them all.
And that’s why we walk.

She lays in a cold white room in a baby blue paper gown,
Anticipating what the x-rays might have found.
Then she hears the words that always stop you on a dime,
And prays that they found it in time.

That’s why we walk.
We walk to remember.
We walk to celebrate.
That’s why we walk.
Leaning on each other
And holding on to faith.
For those that are gone and those who live on,
We honor them all.
And that’s why we walk.

For life, for love, for one another,
For him, for her, there’s strength in numbers

And that’s why we walk.

These lyrics do a beautiful job of capturing the essence of why I must keep walking, but there is more. Part of the reason I think I’m struggling for words this year is because I was quite terrified that I was going to be writing this letter as a cancer patient again instead of a cancer survivor. Very recently I got a call from my doctor because she saw something that just didn’t look right in my mammogram. With my history she wanted me in immediately for more testing. Fortunately all of those additional tests yielded very good results and I should be just fine. What amazed me though was how just breathing the word “cancer” to me reduced me quickly to a frightened little girl once again. This monster has to be stopped. Period. And you can expect to find me on the forefront of the fight until it is. I don’t know how else to explain it.

So…this summer I will be walking sixty miles in both Seattle and San Diego with thousands of others as part of the Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk for Breast Cancer. Between now and then I will be walking literally hundreds of miles as I prepare myself to successfully complete these events. I will also be fundraising my little heart out as I am required to raise a minimum of $4400 to participate in these events. This is where you come in.

All the walking in the world will not stop this monster. It will take the efforts of hardworking, everyday people like you and me to stop this monster in its tracks. The money that you and I contribute to this event goes immediately to support cutting edge research, breast cancer support programs and education for those that most desperately need it. The funds are responsibly managed by the Susan G Komen Foundation and the National Philanthropic Trust Foundation. Please be generous when you consider your donation.

There are two simple ways to help. You can visit www.the3day.org and follow the prompts to donate online using your credit or debit card. Remember that I am walking in both Seattle and San Diego this year. You will immediately receive an email receipt for your tax deductible donation. If you’d prefer to send a check, use the donation forms attached to this letter and mail your donation to the highlighted address or you can simply send the check to me and I’ll do the paperwork for you!

Whichever way you choose please know that not only am I grateful to you for your help but that somewhere out there is a young mother that thinks you are a hero. Why? Because as a direct result of your generosity she received the treatment she desperately needed to have the chance to live long enough to see her child graduate. I’ve been privileged to talk to this young mother standing proudly with her bald head and tears streaming down her face as she clutched the hand of her young son at a cheering station on this event. She is another reason that I walk.

I’ll keep you updated on both my training and fundraising progress via occasional newsletters but you can always keep track of me at http://pennys.pledgepage.org. If you are interested in walking with me as part of my team of Kindred Spirits let me know. If you are unable to walk this year, I hope I can count on your financial support as well as your emotional support as I take on this journey once again. I simply couldn’t even think of doing it without you!

Thank you…


Penny Kellam | kellam83@att.net

Please feel free to share this letter and donation forms with your friends, family and co-workers. All help is gratefully accepted!