Brett Alan Joins The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk

Yesterday I had the pleasure of walking in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk  in memory of a woman that I've never gotten to meet.  But I think that's the case for a lot of people that walked that walk through the streets of Buffalo.  Directly or indirectly I think that almost everyone has been affected by breast cancer.  We weren't just walking for one person.  We were walking for all of them.

I was walking along side my friends yesterday as I have for the past 4 years  to show them support for a woman named Carole Eve.  I never got to meet her because I became friends with her daughter after she lost her battle with breast cancer.  But I was told that she was the anchor in her family.  She lived her life with the patience of a saint and there's no question that she's severely missed by her family and friends.

It looked like it was going to be a rough walk.  The rain came down in buckets as I arrived at the base of City Hall to meet with the rest of the group.  But I've seen worse.  The very first year I did the walk we were out on the waterfront walking into the wind and rain.  It didn't stop us.  We walked through it.  We were prepared to do it again this year.  Luckily, the sun came out as we crossed the starting line and we used our umbrellas as walking sticks instead of protection from the elements.

It's an incredibly touching walk.  You not only see the families and friends who are walking in memory of a loved one but you also see the cancer survivors who wear that title proudly.  They walk to show that it can be beaten.  They walk to show that everyone is affected by this disease.  They walk to show that no one goes through breast cancer alone.

There were over 8000 walkers yesterday.  It's really an overwhelming site to see all those people proudly wearing pink and pledging to help make strides to end breast cancer.  Hopefully one day our children will be able to say, "what's cancer?"