Eliminating the Environmental Causes of Breast Cancer

Saturday was the Strong Voices Training held by the Breast Cancer Fund.

Wendy picked me up at 8:00 (another early weekend day for me) and we rode into the city. The weather was overcast, and we were both a little pooped from the week of work but with a newly acquired fasttrak (wendy where have you been) and the knowledge of the West Grand 80 entrance (your welcome Wendy) we made it into the city with a little added energy. A tip to all, make sure you have some cash on you, the parking lot attendants in SF are not big on the IOU, we'll pay when we leave, so we left, found an ATM and found our way back to the lot, with time to spare.

The training was held at the Embarcadero YMCA, which has fantastic views of the Bay and the bridge. Name tags procured, coffee in hand, and with a new found breakfast food, Fage Greek Yogurt, we sat down for a day of training about the Breast Cancer Fund. The day included training on the Grassroots program that the BCF has, the legislative work they are doing, the environmental factors that lead to cancers and breast cancer in particular, fundraising tips and a media training. There was a break for lunch, a salad with daikon radishes, the choice of a Vietnamese Chicken Sandwich, or a Veggie Sandwich with butternut squash, a potato salad with wasabi, and these delicious chocolaty brownie bites. The BCF was on our green wave length and everything was compost-able. 

Out of all the things I learned about the BCF and the Breast Cancer here are a view highlights

• BCF is the only organization dedicated to the ELIMINATION of the environmental causes of breast cancer, and the PREVENTION of the disease
• Today a US woman's risk of breast cancer is more than 1 in 8
• Only 10% of breast cancer cases are linked to genetics
• Of about 100,000 synthetic chemicals on the market, less than 10% have been fully tested for there effects on human health

For me the training really highlighted why what Wendy and I are working towards is so important. At the beginning of the training, we were asked to stand up and introduce ourselves. Being at one of the front tables I was elected to go first, "My grandmother has had breast cancer twice and she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, most likely due to the treatment she received. It runs in my family and that in conjunction with the environmental causes of the disease scares me and I don't like to be scared." The reasons continued, I have had breast cancer twice and it is my duty to fight this and honor those who have struggled with me and still battle this disease, I have a daughter and I don't want her to have to face this disease, I am an end of life care provider and I have seen too many faces of those who have lost this battle... the reasons were varied but as they were told the same looks were held by the speaker, looks of remembrance, pride and little anger mixed together. We wrote the names of the honored on prayer flags and in a ceremony of remembrance we recited a prayer. These are some of the flags that we will carry to the peak of Shasta with us.

Training completed, we embarked on an "urban" hike through the city to the stairs by Coit Tower. The sun was out for a bit and the rain had stopped which made the hike more enjoyable. It was nice to be on my feet and to be honest, being a Bay Area native, there are a lot of "toursit" sights that I never see. The view at the top of the stairs, (the ones featured in the Parrots of Telegraph Hill,) was breathtaking and almost, almost made the second journey up the stairs worth it.



Starving again, we were invited over to Connie's home to have dinner and socialize with our fellow climbers. After filling up on veggie chili, cornbread and cole slaw, we headed back to the East Bay. Meeting more of our team was great, everyone is so different but with our common goal we are ready to climb this mountain as the BCF says one step at a time. It was a long day and at times the information was overwhelming, but we have so much support and determination this journey is sure to be life changing and a whole lot of fun. A



(Oh and by the way Wendy's got some pretty awesome base layers)