Peoria Race for the Cure

Next Saturday is a very special day, my first year to walk in the Race for the Cure as a survivor instead of a cancer patient. It was all but impossible to think of myself as a survivor last year as I was undergoing chemo and feeling its effects ... with 4 more months of chemo left to endure ... and surgery looming on the horizon after that. I wasn't in "survivor" mode then. I was in "survival" mode.

A few weeks ago I saw a notice in our local newspaper, asking people to share their stories and memories of the Peoria Race for the Cure. I immediately put something together in writing and included a couple of photos ... because I knew it was my chance to recognize "Team Lisa" and all the love and support that has come my way over the past 14 months.

This appeared in the special newspaper section about the Peoria event today ...

If you can't read the print above, you may be able to click the photo and get a slightly larger version. I checked on line, but there is no source on the newspaper web site to view it right now.

I've thought a lot about how wonderful it will be to complete this year's walk with friends and family by my side to support me and celebrate another year of life and another year of just surviving. None of us know how many more "Race for the Cure" events we have left to complete, so I will celebrate each one from here forward as another milestone in the journey of a cancer patient.