My name is Shelley, and I am walking in the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day in Dallas, 2002. I am committing to fundraise and train for this event for two main reasons:

1. The money raised will support early detection of breast cancer. Early detection is the reason that my good friend Judi has an excellent prognosis. She had surgery in December to remove a cancerous lump from her breast, and she is going through radiation treatment now. She's a brave woman and a survivor! She's training for the walk with me and some other friends. Judi had no family history of breast cancer and no real reason to suspect that she had cancer. The lump was too small for her to feel it in a self-exam. But it was detected when she had her first mammogram. I truly believe that early detection will save her life!

2. In the last year, I have lost about 140 pounds after having gastric bypass surgery in April, 2001. This time last year, I could maybe walk 2 miles, but certainly not 20 miles a day, for three days! So I am walking, along with some of my surgery buddies (including my friend Judi), to celebrate our achievements and our regained health! I want to do this because now, after losing the weight and getting fit, I CAN do it!!

* * * * *

Here are the amazing women for whom I am walking:

Judi Brown, my dear friend
Georgia Fuld, my grandmother
Janet Nasso, mother of Michael Nasso
Susie Straus, family friend and 10-year survivor
Carol Wolano, friend of Noelle Dwyer & the Dwyer family
Mindy Bingham, mother of Wendy Bowie
Carol Cheetham, friend of Fredda & Joe Stout
Mary Jane Holmes, aunt of Jennifer Riggers
Anna Margaret Kilpatrick, friend of Diane Scott
Karin Newman Krueger, friend of Amy Isbell
Susan Miller, friend of Ann Levine
Joy Stirling, mother-in-law of Mary Helen Stirling