San Diego’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Kick Off Breakfast

By: Briana Smith, WAXIE Sanitary Supply

Yesterday I had the honor, along with several of my fellow WAXIE coworkers, to attend the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Kick Off Breakfast at the Town & Country Hotel in San Diego, CA.

WAXIE is a proud flagship sponsor in San Diego and a member of the National Partners Program of the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Walk. Each time I attend a meeting, donate at a fundraising event or participate in the annual Walk I’m struck by the generosity of people who are trying to be a part of something bigger in helping others. Often people they have never met.

Most people I have met have known at least one other person who’s life has been affected by cancer in one form or another, whether it’s breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, etc. which makes this a very personal disease. It changes lives dramatically, often beginning with a few short words upon diagnosis.

This is the first kick off breakfast I’ve attended, and I was impressed by how impassioned both the speakers and other attendees were. I appreciated that program for this year’s event covered many different facets of how the American Cancer Society assists in the fight against breast cancer. The program flowed seamlessly with poignant stories from several speakers to a couple aspects of the research that’s being done, which is funded by the American Cancer Society. Also touched upon was survivorship, what happens after cancer is in remission.

The emcees for the Making Strides Kick Off Breakfast were Susan Taylor (Executive Director, External Affairs- Scripps Health) and Stacy Matseas (ACS volunteer and #1 National fundraiser for ACS/Making Strides). Susan reminded the attendees that half of all women who are diagnosed with breast cancer come to the American Cancer Society for information & help in navigating the many choices on the difficult path ahead of them. They are able to offer many free services due to the donations of everyday people, such as a 24/7 hotline that someone can call and talk to someone about what they’re going through & a ride program to help those who cannot drive themselves to their appointments, etc. Susan also shared her personal experience when her mom was diagnosed over 10 years ago.

Stacy in turn shared her experiences volunteering as a driver for the ride program and all the people she met & was touched by, some of whom she still stays in touch with today. She asked everyone to remind themselves why this cause was so important to them, whether it was to make a difference, whether they had survived breast cancer or because of someone they knew, or for any other reason. Whatever the reason was, that’s why we walk & fundraise.

Next up was Dr. Irene Su, who is an ACS funded researcher at UCSD’s Moores Cancer Center. It was refreshing to hear from someone involved in this aspect of the cancer fight. Dr. Su talked about a couple of projects that she and her team were working on. One project is the research on women’s reproductive cycles after going through treatments and upon reaching survivorship, as many women experience a decrease in fertility compared to other women of the same age. She wants to help families to be able to plan & make better informed decisions when it comes to family planning based on what’s being discovered. Oftentimes this is a neglected portion of the cancer treatment/survivorship process.

Another project that Dr. Su is working on is making sure that all information from the treatment process is made available to all of a person’s doctors including primary care physicians, gynecologists, etc. to facilitate someone’s long-term & continuous health.

Sonja Johnson (21-year breast cancer Survivor and volunteer for ACS/Making Strides) spoke up about the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) that people can join. ACS CAN is an advocacy group that fights for cancer research through the government funding.

Some of the most heartrending stories though were from Elena Saludares-Stein (also a Pacesetter for Making Strides) & Megan Powers (another Pacesetter who has raised about $25,000 for Making Strides since she began participating in 2006). Elena described her personal battle with stage 3 breast cancer & how much she appreciated the resources that were available through the American Cancer Society. She told us how she made use of the 24/7 hotline on multiple occasions, and how she was not going to be a victim.

Megan’s story was equally touching, as she named family and friends who have had & currently has breast cancer and why she walks. She also talked about how easy it is to ask for others for donations compared to what these women are up against. She also makes sure that she keeps people informed on the progress she’s made and what the results were every year. Megan ended her emotional inspirational experiences with the news that one of her friend’s, who is still fighting breast cancer, just adopted a baby boy, which brought a smile to everyone’s faces.

At the end of the Making Strides Kick Off Breakfast we were reminded that cancer hates noise and that with everyone’s combined effort we could beat this disease!

So please join WAXIE in the fight against breast cancer! This year WAXIE is participating in nine walks across the Western United States. Join us by walking with &/or donating to any of our teams: Team WAXIE. Here's to celebrating more birthdays!

Many thanks to Cari for sharing some of her pictures of the event!

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Resources:
WAXIE Making Strides Against Breast Cancer - http://info.waxie.com/about-us/waxie-making-strides-against-cancer/
Team WAXIE - http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?company_id=205327&fr_id=55750&pg=national_company
American Cancer Society - http://www.cancer.org/
ACS Making Strides Against Breast Cancer - http://makingstrides.acsevents.org/site/PageServer?pagename=MSABC_CY13_FindAnEvent
ACS CAN - http://www.acscan.org/