My Mom and Breast Cancer

Today my mom would have been 80 years old. But 8 years ago she died of complications from breast cancer. I wrote a short post about her last year and even though Mike and I returned to the US after living in Mexico, I still have that adventurous spirit I inherited from my mom and I thank her for that. Happy Birthday, Mom!

Another adventurer is a woman I have never met in person and her name is Teresa. Teresa and I “met” via my blog and we have been emailing each other for the past year or so. Teresa was a volunteer English teacher in Chacala the past 2 years and she keeps up with many of the same Mexican blogs that I read. Teresa is also a substitute teacher that lives in Lake Stevens, north of Seattle. Later this month she is coming to Oregon to visit friends and finally meet Steve Cotton and myself.

Teresa has friends who have dealt with cancer and that was another connection we had in common. That said, please read the following email from Teresa:

Dear Friends,

As many of you know, last summer I had my hair shaven off in support of my friend Brenda Dykgraaf when she lost hers to chemo. Brenda is a 2nd grade teacher at Mt. Pilchuck and has been a close friend for 13 years. She is finished with her treatment, and thank God, is doing very well.

A few weeks ago, she asked me if I would join her on the Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk and of course I said yes. I did the walk 4 1/2 years ago in memory of another teacher, Connie Wescott, and it was a wonderful experience. The walk is a total of 60 miles over a 3 day period, so it takes a lot of time and energy to train. However, the most difficult part for me is asking people for money. You see, this is a fundraiser for breast cancer research through the Susan G. Komen Foundation and I need to raise $2,300.00. The walk is not till September but I am very excited about participating in it and so I decided to go ahead and start raising the money now. I'm therefore asking you for your support in this endeavor. Any amount that you can donate will be greatly appreciated.

There are 2 ways to make your donations:

1. Make an online donation by going to my web page at: www.the3day.org
Click on donate at the upper right hand corner, type in my name, click where it says donate to Teresa Freeburn and choose or write in an amount.
After that you will be asked to fill in your billing information.

2. Write a check to the Breast Cancer 3 Day and mail it to me at:
1901 125th Ave. N.E. Apt. 211
Lake Stevens, Wa. 98258

Thank you for any help you can give me with this. If you have any family, friends or colleagues whom you feel would be willing to make a contribution to this great cause, please feel free to forward this e-mail to them. You may e-mail me or call me at 425-299-4399 if you have any questions.

Sincerely,
Teresa Freeburn

I fully support Teresa’s effort and if anyone needs any further information about the walk, please let me know. Below are pictures of Brenda and Teresa – with and without hair.